Reincarnation is a Dosey
by WitheringFeniks
Summary: So like, I died and somehow I end up in SDS universe as Elizabeth. Ya know, the reincarnation of someone who's also a reincarnation. Whelp, if so I'm gonna do my darn best to actually be of help if this isn't all just a comatose dream. OC!Elizabeth. Slow-burn MeliodasxOC.
1. I'm Such a Cliché

**Summary: So like, I died and somehow I end up in SDS universe as Elizabeth. Ya know, the reincarnation of someone who's also a reincarnation. Whelp, if so I'm gonna do my darn best to actually be of help if this isn't all just a comatose dream. OC!Elizabeth.**

 **Yes, I know that these types of stories are often seen as cliché but that is sort of the point. I've never done something like this before and wanted to give it a shot.**

 **This chapter is a tester, cause I don't know what sort of response I'll receive, which will depend on if I continue. I wanna know if its gonna be read and if so, I'd love to continue.**

 **Romance in this story isn't the main focus point, it takes a bit of a back step for my OC's development but it is 'discussed' (more like mental pondering from her) as the story will progress.**

 **[27/5/2020—minor corrections]**

 **o-o-o-o-o**

So like, I died.

I actually, legit _died_.

I remember casually walking down the street, crossing the road while it was green for me and someone shouting something along the lines of "Look out!" and I turned to see a lorry driving faster than the speed limit straight for me.

My mind completely _blanked._ In one of the worst moments in life, my mind chose that second to completely stop functioning correctly and it left me frozen, staring wide-eyed at the lorry. Then unbearable pain floods my entire being, down to my every nerve.

I don't really remember much of the actual hit—I'm guessing trauma and stuff like that. I dunno, I'm not some genius—just average intelligence. I wasn't the smartest or the dumbest person, just… average. I lived a normal life, I came from a fairly well-endowed family, went to school like a normal kid and got average grades then decided to take a college course in Fine Art. I'd always loved art and how expressive it could be.

But I'm going off on a bit of a tangent.

What I'm trying to get at is reincarnation—I never really believed in it. I was, _am_ , Atheist. I didn't believe in Hell or Heaven. I just accept that folklore and religion was for people that wanted, needed something to believe in. Not that there was anything wrong with that. My grandparents on my mum's side were, _are_ Christian and I'd never judge anyone for it—I wasn't that type of person.

But the idea of rebirth, or that there was something after death—I just didn't believe it, either because it didn't sound real or it was a bit of a scary thought because no one is that straightforward with their morals and what is considered right or wrong.

So as I wonder what happens next, I hear screaming—possibly because of my death but then I come to the realisation that I was dead. As in _no longer breathing_ , so I, therefore, shouldn't be able to hear anything.

It was… raining? I felt the drizzling of water against my face—my baby face mind you. I was wrapped up in a blanket, held against a chest—a guy's chest, it was flat, and he was walking. I could hear the murmuring of his voice, but it was quiet. Distorted.

Oh my god, babies had limited hearing and eyesight for a while after being born, didn't they? Shit, how'd I forgotten that?

Never mind, I'm more curious about why it was quiet—if he was in a street or something, there'd be more background noise I'd be able to pick up, even as a baby. So that must mean we were alone? A single dad maybe? That would be interesting.

I allow my thoughts to slow and stop as I tried to instead focus on what was happening around me. I know the rain had stopped now, maybe he was walking away from it?

There was a noise—an animal-like noise, maybe a horse? It sounded like a neigh. Then clanking and the man holding me slowed to a stop. It let me finally realise he was shaking, his heartbeat felt off, faster. Was he nervous? Scared? Upset?

There was more murmuring, voices then—

The one carrying me shouted, it startled me, and my lids fluttered in response; he moved, seeming to swing his arm out at someone, possibly to shove their arm away from us.

He was stressed, running on impulse—what happened to you and how can I help? I wanna help, dude. Dad? Is he my new dad? Brother? Some sort of family or family friend? I don't care, I just wanna comfort him.

I manage to force my lids open, I see a blob of yellow. A sunflower-yellow colour, maybe hair? It was quite a pretty colour, I like it. It actually reminded me of a fictional character from an anime I'd seen recently. His name was Meliodas, originally from a manga called Seven Deadly Sins—or rather Nanatsu no Taizai, since it originated from Japan.

I blink at up him, squirming, then piercing green eyes are peering down at me. I couldn't make out any facial details other than he was light-skinned and possible a late teen.

A brother?

The eyes soften, then they move, focusing on someone else.

I blink sluggishly, wanting to fight the tired sensation but gave in. Damnit, being a baby is harder than it looks. All they do is sleep all the time.

* * *

Being a baby with the brain of a teenager sucked. A fuck tone.

Half the bloody time I couldn't tell how much time passed, nor could I see anything other than blobs of colour and not to mention falling asleep constantly.

But it was just the way babies were I guess, it wasn't something I had control over.

It was kinda humiliating to be cleaned and changed, though. I just want to get it out of the way, so I can forget it ever happened. Normally a baby wouldn't even remember this but I'm not exactly a normal baby, god- _fucking_ -damnit.

Though the situation made me all the more curious about where I was or rather _when_ I was. Those around me spoke English, there were several people that tended to be around me constantly. Melly (I'd named the blonde-haired guy after Meliodas) was one of them, seeming to always just be there. I liked him, _really_ like him. He was such a soothing presence for some reason, something in me just liked him there despite not knowing anything about who he was.

Is that something all babies go through?

Over the course of my stay where ever it was we'd gone, my hearing had slowly been improving, I'd learned Melly's name actually started with 'Mel' too. Damn, hearing wasn't all that great yet and I still missed pieces, often sounding jumbled together.

Oh, my name was Elizabeth too. I'd managed to piece _that_ together.

Ironic is it not? That my name was the same as another fictional character from SDS, as I'd taken it to calling it.

I liked to listen to the maids as they chattered to each other, talking about things that happened and from that I managed to gather I've been born into a distant past of when there were still kingdoms and when Britain still went by Britannia.

Shit man.

There were talks of Knights, Holy Knights—and I think I'm missing something or the person that's in charge of reincarnation wants to have a laugh.

I'm not knowledgeable on history, I didn't take it as a flipping GCSE but I know for a fact that Holy Knights weren't a phrased used.

Shit—have I become a fucking cliché?

Please let me be mishearing shit.

Then finally, within a day of coming to this fucking conclusion, I finally hear all of Melly's name.

Meliodas

As Abridged Meliodas said: "Fuck me mother's arse."

This had to be a joke because honestly, I don't know how to react. Besides the fact that I actually get to meet the adorable dwarf? This hit home at just what sort of situation I'd found myself in.

I really am a fucking cliché, and that makes me Elizabeth. Fuck. There was so much for me to process and—

The door to my nursery creaked open quietly and my gaze turned to Meliodas, whose drawings and design back in my world did him no justice. While he still looked the same, the art just never was able to portray just how handsomely adorable he was.

He looked taller too, I think in canon he was 5'0" but looked more around 5'2" when comparing him to the nurses that were already in the room.

He greeted the nurses and wandered to me, where I reached up and made grabby gestures. Something I'd come to do because again, Melly was a bloody soothing presence to me and I guess I know the reason now, right?

Cause I'm Elizabeth, a reincarnation of the Goddess Elizabeth, who was cursed for loving a demon.

Fuck, poor Meliodas, he had to see her—me?—die over and over again.

And I just come to another fucking realisation, I hadn't seen past the end of season two of the anime and had never even seen the manga. I mean I'd browsed the wiki because I couldn't help it, but I have no idea what happens after Melly comes back from the dead and kills Fraudrin.

 _Fuuuuuuck._

Meliodas chuckled and reached down, seemingly unable to deny my request and I gave a gummy smile as he settled me against his chest. My short and chubby arms reached up to wrapped around his shoulders (or at least I try to do that) and clutched at his shirt as I buried my face into his neck.

Again, I reinstate that I love his presence. He's like such a teddy bear to cuddle with.

He wanders from my nursery, something he'd do often. He liked to walk me around the gardens, let me explore outside the room I'd often spend most of my day in—it was boring and being a teenager in the body of a baby didn't help one single bit.

Eventually, we reached our destination and Meliodas sat down in the garden, setting me down in between his legs. He plucked a daisy and held it in front of me and—

I squealed (why the fuck did I squeal?) and reached out for the white flower, my fat fingers taking it from him. He chuckled, resting his chin on top of my head.

"So adorable." He murmured, and I slumped back against his chest. His chin dipped from the sudden lack of support. He ooph-ed and I giggled.

He gave a dramatic gasp as I peered up at him with another gummy smile. "Playful little one, aren't ya?" He poked my sides and- _oh my fucking god, don't do that!_

I, honest to god, squeaked and squirmed but he just grinned and continued doing it, getting more laughter from me.

Damn me and not being able to speak yet! As soon as I do, I'm gonna make sure he knows every time he tries to tickle me not to do so, then I'll runway—more like crawl, depending on how fast I can learn to get my legs working properly.

I bat at his hands to try and get him to stop and by the time he does, I'm breathless and wheezing as I slumped against him, overcome with tiredness.

"Aw, did I tire you out, Elizabeth?" He hummed playfully.

I gurgled in response. So, I'm probs like three months old now, gotta start working on talking. If I can remember babies start really making progress at like six months. I'm gonna make Meliodas my first fucking word because he bloody deserves it, or well at least Melly, since that's my nickname for him.

Screw dad or mum.

Which would be King Bartra and Queen Caroline. The latter of which will die within the next few years—fuck, poor woman. She'd made herself quite the presence in my life when Melly wasn't around and she was a real sweet woman. It was even her idea to adopt me before Bartra had made mention of his vision.

I'd met both Margret and Veronica a few times too, but since I wasn't really old enough to be able to play with them yet, they didn't spend much time with me. Currently, Margret was two years old while Vernonia was nearing one. That _will_ change in a few years, mark my words. I always loved those two women. Margaret would take after her mother with her sweat and gentle personality and Veronica was feisty and strong-willed.

Talking about being feisty, I wanna learn sword fighting. If I'm gonna be travelling with Melly, I don't want to be a hindrance like I (unfortunately) saw Elizabeth at times. I didn't hate her, I just got a little annoyed at how she was so naïve and couldn't fight with a sword or anything. She got worried when Ban and Melly had been fighting in that tournament when she should have known Ban wasn't going to seriously harm the demon. There were other occasions to where she worried unnecessarily too.

"Hey, where'd your mind go, little one." Melly gently nudged my side and I blinked, realising I'd been going off on a mental tangent. Whoops.

I made a sound, hoping to get him to forget that. Can't have him suspecting anything, though I doubt it would come to that.

It seemed to work as Melly smiled, dropping a kiss to my forehead.

* * *

"Mmmah." I tried. Oh my god, who knew trying to speak would be so god damn hard. I've been working on trying to say at least Melly but every damn time I can't get it on point.

The maids are getting on my nerves with their happy-go-lucky cheeriness at my attempts to speak and crawl. Thankfully my crawling attempts are a hell of a lot better than my speech.

Also, fucking teething hurts like a bitch. When I'm not trying to speak, I spend most of my time chewing to help ease the bloody pain.

Anyway, during the last month, the Seven Deadly Sins had been formed. I'd sadly not had the chance to meet any of them yet, but I had met Hendrickson and Dreyfus (who I'm not sure is possessed yet, I'm not good with the timeline of SDS) as well as Zaratras. God was that man funny.

It was here I finally fucking got it and the reaction from everyone in the room was hilarious.

As soon as Melly had entered the room that we, as in mum, dad, Hendrickson, Dreyfus, Zaratra and me, I turned towards him, arms raised and said: "Melly!" clear as day.

Dad comically fell to the ground and it got laughter from the others as Meliodas grinned, swiping me from my mum's grip to hold me.

"So adorable aren't ya, Elizabeth!" He nuzzled his nose with mine and I grinned with a giggle. "I guess we all know who she likes the best now, don't we?"

The last part was humorously aimed at dad, who'd gotten to his feet. "My baby girl!" He cried. "Such betrayal!"

More laughter ensued.

* * *

So I've discovered my hair was no longer brown but rather it had turned a silvery blonde—almost white in fact—as Elizabeth's had been, so it cemented the idea that I'd become her in more than just placement. My hair reached my jaw again and took on my familiar wild like style because of the choppiness.

I already had blue eyes similar to hers beforehand, so I wouldn't be so disappointed if they had changed slightly. On top of that, I disliked Elizabeth's fringe, but I knew she had it like that to hide her eye, so I'll have to figure something out. Maybe an eye-patch.

I'll be like Ciel from Kuroshituji. Hell yeah!

Another thought that popped into mind while pondering on my appearance was that Elizabeth was 5"4', so if I was going to be Elizabeth's height, there wouldn't be such a difference between Melly and me considering Melly was taller in this world then his fictional counterpart.

I'd always found it weird to see Elizabeth stood next to Melly in the show.

My first birthday was coming around soon too, that was a moot point because I'd finally completely mastered walking and speaking more words. Thank fuck.

Now that I could actually speak, I could communicate with Melly better. I loved it. Unfortunately, he was working as the leader of the Seven Deadly Sins, so he now spends time away from the palace (damn, I missed him a lot) but it also meant I could spend time with others, Veronica and Margret being two of them.

Eventually Gilthunder, Howzer and Griamore came into the picture. The three were about five years old than me but I enjoyed their presence to help stave off my loneliness without Melly.

Oh my god, I just realised how much I enjoy being around Melly, is it because of who I'd become? Not much was revealed about Elizabeth's childhood other then Meliodas had been a part of it until Zaratras was killed the Sins were framed for his murder. But Elizabeth had been portrayed as being quite close to him, so perhaps my feelings are logical?

* * *

I pottered about the garden, Melly sat on the grass several feet behind me watching. The flowers in the gardens had finally bloomed and they were really pretty looking. Smiling, I plucked some that were pleasing to the eye to give to my Melly.

I trotted back over to him and he shifted to allow me to perch in his lap. I held the flowers up. "For you!"

He smiled. "For me?" I nodded and Melly took them from my waiting hands. "They're very pretty, thank you, Beth."

I let out a laugh, grinning as I snuggled into his chest. One arm came to wrap around me and he placed a kiss to my forehead.

Right yeah, I'd managed to get quite a few people to call me Beth instead of my full name—though Veronica rebelled and when for Ellie like she'd done in the show. The reason behind Beth was because my former name had been Bethany and thankfully both names have 'Beth' in them because I'd always liked it as a nickname. My brother had given it to me.

I gave a sigh, closing my eyes as I lean into Melly. My older brother by two years had been my best friend and the person I loved to annoy the most, although it worked both ways with that. We had that typical playful relationship between us.

My chest suddenly hurt.

I… I had tried my damn hardest not to think about the life I'd left behind since my arrival because I knew if I did, I would make myself depressed. My dad, the guy that loved to try and get you to laugh. His jokes or actions sometimes working while others weren't as successful. My mum was an easy-going woman and our entire family was just—

I left out another breath and hid my face in Melly's chest.

Damnit.


	2. Another Perspective

Right—I'll start by saying life for me had gotten busy and during that time I focused on my other stuff (as well as general life). But ton top of that, I got a case of writer's block on how I wanted to have this chapter go which is why I focused on my planning for this story instead.

Okay, so focusing on you guys for a bit. I was honestly—still am—amazed by the response I got from the first chapter! So thank you guys, it means to much!

 **Reviews:**

 **Merendinomiliano:** Not saying you're correct, but… you _might_ be onto something 😉. That's all I'm gonna respond with lol.

 **Heitor:** Okay, so when you first reviewed, I did respond but when I went back the other day to find it, I couldn't. So I panicked because you wrote such a long and lovely review and it made me think about a lot! Which is why if the response didn't send I might just off myself :') I'm sorry if it didn't, forgive me because it probably seemed like I ignored you and I didn't!

 **Shadowjab17:** Thank you for staying that! And I believe that if cliché stories like this are done right, it can be charming!

 **Psychotic-Penguin13:** Yes, their relationship will progress differently than cannon. Beth isn't anything like Elizabeth and so Melly's own response/relationship in turn will change. And yeah, the grammar thing—it's something that I always somehow miss, but I've made it a habit to review the previous chapters sometimes before the next post to fix them.

 **Thank you, everyone, else for you reviews also!**

 **[27/5/2020—minor corrections]**

* * *

 **Chapter 2:** Another Perspective

Meliodas wasn't stupid, despite how often he could come off as it because of his antics (and admittedly he _liked_ to do stupid stuff sometimes, even if it was just to get someone to misinterpret their opinion on him). He knew babies were criers, it was just who they were, but Elizabeth was a _quiet_ baby and her eyes seemed far clearer and more aware than any babies should be.

At first, he'd never really taken note of it, but his curiosity won out after his Goddess's personal maids mentioned her perhaps odd behaviours to him on several occasions and then he noticed more than just the lack of crying.

While his little Elizabeth gave the typical baby behaviours, she seemed all too much aware of her surroundings then she should be at her age. Like she already had fully (or at least better than she _should_ have) coherent thoughts. After that, he began noticing smaller actions that might look innocent or normal but, now it seemed to prove that something _was_ odd about her.

Like the way her brows furrowed at seemingly nothing, but had it been on someone older, might signify deeper thinking. Her eyes wandered with not baby curiosity but that of someone older. She was generally a quiet baby and her actions seemed planned rather than a spur of the moment that babied often expressed.

There were so many signs to prove his Elizabeth just wasn't a normal baby and it made him so _damn_ curious because he had no idea what was going on and didn't have any idea where to start; he wanted to know if everything he was seeing was true and not just something he's been imagining because of what some maids had said.

However, he'd never seen anything like this in his three thousand years of life. Did his Elizabeth… have some sort of recognition? It was wishful thinking really, he knew that, and the thought made his chest hurt with that stupid feeling called hope.

"Melly?" The child that had been the subject of his thoughts tugged at his red shirt and his gaze turned to her. Silver-white brows furrowed with confusion and curiosity.

This incarnation was the closest Elizabeth had ever looked to her former Goddess self.

It had another certain type of possible hope bubbling in his chest, but he did his best to squish it too.

"Beth?" He returned and she grinned.

"Melly!" She chirped.

Meliodas chuckled; she was quite adorable despite the things he'd noticed. If anything, the oddities revealed an intelligence that others her age had yet to develop and wouldn't for a while. She seemed to have an advanced vocabulary, _yes_ it was true she couldn't say most words properly yet, but it didn't stop her from trying to say the damn words.

He also found it just a bit funny because she didn't seem to _realise_ she used them when she did, acting seemingly older then she was from the use of them.

Curious.

* * *

He and his teammates, his… could he call them his friends? He liked to think so, even only knowing them for such a short time, they had bonded on their similarities and differences. They were a rag-tag bunch of criminals that had been employed by the king after all.

Either way, he and his friends had finally returned from a month-long mission of tracking down a group of former Holy Knights that had gone rouge and now that had been sorted, Meliodas was eager to see his Elizabeth.

It wasn't any secret that Elizabeth was the most taken by him, as funny as it was to witness the King cry over the 'betrayal' of his youngest daughter. It hadn't surprised him, however.

They passed the gate to enter the knights training ground, having to report to the Grand Master Zaratras at their return. However, before they could get far—

"Melly!"

Meliodas abruptly stopped at Elizabeth's voice, Ban yelped as he nearly crashed into him.

"What the fuck, Captain?" Ban questioned as the others all stopped to glance at their leader.

"Melly!"

He twisted his head around to find the owner of the voice; from an archway to his right, out came a running Elizabeth, a wide smile gracing her lips in excitement.

The blond returned the smile. "Beth."

She squealed and rushed faster towards him then—

 _she tripped._

For a moment nothing happened, silence buzzed in his ears before he regained control of his body and rushed forward to the fallen Princess. "Elizabeth!"

She lifted her head, blinking with a startled expression but no tears. He knelt before her, offering a hand which she took to pull herself up.

"Are you alright?" He asked but all Elizabeth did was give him a sheepish expression.

"You din't see tat."

Meliodas' lips curled upwards. "Oh? You mean the fact that you tripped?"

Elizabeth glared, or rather perhaps the more appropriate word would be she _pouted_. Meliodas chuckled and she glared more, whacking his arm. "Hush! Shhhh!"

"Okay, okay!" Meliodas conceded, raising both hands in surrender. Elizabeth grinned in success.

The awing of Diana brought Meliodas back to the present, glancing over his shoulder to see his friends' curious expressions.

"Who's this little one, Captain?" Diana questioned as she crouched.

Elizabeth's eyes widened in awe and her embarrassment was long forgotten, she moved forward. "Hello! You're very beautiful!"

Diana giggled, twirling a piece of her hair. "Thank you, sweetie, and you're adorable!"

Meliodas watched with a soft express as Beth looked over them all with curiosity.

"So what's your name?" Ban questioned, leaning forward to peer down at her curiously.

"E-liz-a-beth!" she chirped, grinning.

"Oh?" Merlin smiled, setting her feet firmly on the ground. Her amber eyes twinkled. "You wouldn't happen to be the third princess Elizabeth by any chance, would you?"

Elizabeth laughed, nodding her head. "T'at's me!"

"Perhaps some introductions are needed, then." Merlin continued. "I'm Merlin." She pointed to Ban. "Lanky over here is Ban. The shorty and chubby one is King. The one carrying the axe is Escanor and the large armoured one is Gowther. And of course, you already know Diane's name."

"It's nice ta meet you all!" She grinned.

Meliodas watched on, quite fondly, as Elizabeth animatedly chatted with them excitedly. She didn't get to meet many new people, often kept within a certain wing of the palace for her safety because it could be a crowded place during the day.

"So how old are you, sweetie?" Diane asked.

"T'ree!" Beth puffed her chest out proudly.

"Big girl then?" Ban teased, smirking.

She pouted up at him.

"Young miss." Meliodas recognised the voice belonging to Elizabeth's personal maid from his numerous meetings over the last three years. He turned to see as the woman quickly made her way over, a look of relief on her features. "What have I told you about wondering off?

Elizabeth turned to her as well with a sheepish expression. "But ah saw Melly!"

Her reasoning made him smirk but Alice, the woman's name, placed her hands on her hips. A stern expression on her face. "That may be the case, but you are young, and could accidentally get yourself lost and hurt. You understand?"

Elizabeth pouted but nodded. "I concede."

 _There she goes again,_ Meliodas mused, _using words she shouldn't know._

From the corner of his eye, he saw that both Merlin and Escanor noticed the use of 'concede' instead of 'understand'.

"But now ah'm here, stay with Melly?" she questioned, moving closer to him.

He chuckled in response, reaching out to pat her head. She batted at his hand. "I've got something I need to do, Beth, but I'll come find you once I've finished. Is that okay?"

Her pout grew but nodded. "Ah understand!"

She reached for Alice's out stretched hand and the woman began leading her away. Elizabeth, of course, glanced back at them and waved enthusiastically—to his amusement.

* * *

The report to Zaratras took a lot longer than he'd expected. So by the time he was making his way through the hallways, after having made a pit stop at his house to change out of his armour, it had been over two hours.

Two hours too long in his opinion.

But he shook those thoughts off because what had happened, had happened and he can't change the past—no matter how much he wished he could.

He hummed and rid himself of those thoughts—it wouldn't lead anywhere good after all.

As he reached Elizabeth's door, Meliodas knocked. "Beth~?"

He heard a squeal and it brought a smile to his face. He opened the door and peered inside to see Beth sat by her sketchbook, her pencils all scattered about as she abandoned them to come rushing up to him.

He returned the hug, lifting her up and setting Beth on his hip. Beth wrapped her arms around his neck. "You gone for too long! F'ought you weren't comin'!"

"Sorry, Beth." Meliodas hummed and tapped her on the nose, she giggled in response. "There was more work than I thought. But, I thought of nothing but you during my time away."

She giggled again and nuzzled into his neck. Had she been a cat, Meliodas was sure she'd be purring. Beth was quite the snuggler, it was adorable. "How about we go for a walk? I've missed our walks."

She squealed again and bounced in his grip. "Yes, yes, yes!"

Meliodas laughed heartily as he set her down. She latched onto his hand as they left her room, it consisted of Beth telling him everything she'd done while he was away.

"—Alice was really impressed by my reading!" She jumped up and down. "Said I could start a big book!"

"You enjoy reading then?" Meliodas asked, smiling.

"Uh, huh!" She nodded enthusiastically. "Reading is one of mah favourite things! After drawing dat is!"

"Ohhhh." Meliodas raised his brows. "May I see some of these drawings later?"

Her cheeks flushed. "I dunno if they any good, but Alice says if I work hard I could be amazing!"

"I'm sure they're beautiful if you drew them, Beth." He complimented, watching her cheeks darken in colour further. She stared up at him with this adoring gaze and it hurt Meliodas inside because there was this innocence. An innocence that she deserved to keep for her entire life without having to keep getting caught in the web they'd wound themselves into.

"Melly?" Meliodas blinked and realised he'd allowed his mask to slip. Beth peered up at him in concern. "Hurt?" She reached forward, seemingly searching for injuries. "Melly in pain?"

He bit back to whine that threatened to escape at her concern. He shook his head. "I'm not hurt, Beth… just, something came to mind, yeah?"

Beth frowned—like she didn't believe him, her eyes clearly portraying she knew better and for a moment Meliodas felt breathless. "It's okay, Melly." She stared him in the eye. "You hurt inside? Put on smile for me? It okay not too."

She was going to be a death of him—Meliodas was sure of it. Whether through her adorableness, or some other way. He just knew it.

Meliodas swallowed thickly and knelt, brushing her fringe from her eyes. "Thank you for your words, Beth, but you don't need to worry about me. I'm fine."

Beth continued to peer at him, brows furrowing, like she wanted to argue but instead, just threw herself at him. He wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her head. She buried her face into his face and he sighed heavily, lifting her up as he stood.

* * *

 **Thank you for the wait! I'll try and not make you wait another long time for a third chapter!**


	3. Snippets

**At least this didn't take a year to write, lol. I might come back at a later date to tweak pieces. who knows.**

 **From age four until six. I wanted to focus more on other characters and Elizabeth's interactions with them.**

 **Also more about Beth as a person ;)**

 **[27/5/2020—minor corrections]**

* * *

 **Chapter 3:** Snippets

 **(Age 4)**

Mum was dead. As was Zaratras's wife Renee and Dryfus's wife Anna.

It came out of nowhere, really. They'd gone out of the city to attend some sort of formal tea party. I'd had no idea when it was going to happen—they often went out to those sort of things.

It hurt.

It really hurt.

I don't know if it's a result of my child side, because something that I'd only admitted to a few people from Before was that I struggled to connect with others. It was something that plagued me when I was Bethany and even now as Elizabeth. It's a weird thing to explain, I love my family (did, do?) but when it came to others outside, I could never really _emotionally_ connect. I want to, don't get me wrong—I want nothing more than too but…

When I was eight, as Bethany, a woman, a close family friend—like another grandmother to me—passed away. A woman I'd know all my life, and when she died… well, I didn't really _feel_ anything. I felt no empathy towards her—I felt no loss or sadness.

I cried just because others cried.

I feared for a long time that I was a sociopath, but I came to the conclusion that I wasn't—I just lacked empathy to a degree. I wonder if that helped me adjust to this life easier because I knew I should have spent a long time freaking out and just…

Maybe it would hit me in a few years' time, who knows.

I sighed heavily and stared down at the casket that was being transported into the tomb. My eyes burned and I wondered if my lack of empathy was going to play a role in any changes that might come.

I loved Coraline, I did, even with the short time I knew her, but I doubt I was going to spend more than a day crying.

And that hurt. It hurt that I couldn't grieve her death for a normal mourning period.

My grip on Melly's hand tightened.

(All the Sins had come to the funeral, each having had interactions with mum and knew her quite well because I had made a habit of including them whenever I could. I wanted to make the most of my time with them.)

Melly's thumb rubbed the back of my hand.

* * *

Veronica's temper was shorter than normal, no doubt mum's death was the reason; it had only been two weeks. Thinking of mum only really left an uneasy feeling in my chest, in the way that someone you liked was going to go away for a while but knew would come back—unfortunately, that wasn't the case this time.

I wanted to talk to Melly, because despite everything that was wrong about me, he was like a light at the end of a tunnel.

Ironic wasn't it?

I don't know my feelings towards him, maybe one day I would come to love him like Elizabeth does but another part of me wonders if I could even love someone in that way.

But Melly and the Sins were away on a job, so I couldn't go see him.

I shook that off and continued heading for the library, Veronica and Margaret were going to meet me there. It had become a thing that Margaret would read to us both, the books varied because surprisingly enough Veronica enjoyed fairy tales.

Honestly, when she'd said it, it had surprised me. I wasn't expecting someone who'd go on to become a strong-willed woman to enjoy fairy tales still—but she's six, so that might be part of it.

Unfortunately, I wasn't the biggest fan of them, I liked the slightly more mature fairy tales—the equivalent of an adult adventure book. They had them in the library actually.

Veronica didn't like them as much—preferring the kids' versions. She thought my choices were stupid.

Which unfortunately led into an argument today. Her constant snapping was grating my nerves and so I had returned the biting words.

Well, at least until—

"What does your opinion even matter? It's not like you're our actual sister!"

My jaw actually _dropped_.

Margaret gasped. "Veronica!"

Oh.

Oh, it was on.

That bitch.

I forced my eyes to well up with tears and I dropped my book, fleeing the library, heading straight for dad. How dare she! I ignored Margaret's voice for me to come back before she quickly went on to berate Veronica.

I hid a snicker. You wanna play it like that, Veronica? Then let's play.

* * *

"I'm very disappointed in you Veronica." Dad lectured, Veronica's eyes filled with tears, despite how much she visibly tried to fight it. "Elizabeth is your sister, whether through blood or not and to think otherwise is cruel. I'm not sure how you came into that knowledge in the first place, but it wasn't for you to share in spite."

I clutched dad's hand tightly, eyes still irritated and throat sore from my crying.

"Beth is still young, both of you are, and saying something like that was uncalled for. In fact, your entire behaviour since your mother's passing has been unsavoury. I know losing her hurts, but taking it out on others is wrong. Now, you will apologise to your _sister_."

Veronica didn't make a sound for several moments before her shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry."

She didn't sound too sorry.

I huddled into dad's side more.

"Veronica." Dad warned.

"It okay." I huffed. "She m'ent words, no point make her say sorry for something she m'ent." I glanced at dad. "Go now? Wanna have Alice help read."

Dad stroked my head. "Of course, my dear."

"T'ank you." I hurried out the room but lingered in the doorway long enough to hear dad start a more firm and angry lecture.

I grinned.

Veronica and I didn't talk for a while after that. I wasn't too bothered, she'd been a bitch.

* * *

I hummed a song from Before, the name escaping me and at that realisation I paused. I… that song was my brother's favourite song but… I couldn't remember the name!

Crap!

My eyes widened in horror, I was forgetting things!

I abandoned my doodles and beginning scrambling for the rest of my parchment. I then grabbed my black pencil and began, in as best writing I could, notes. Plot points and everything I could remember, no matter the order—I'd do that later. I just needed to get it done.

It was panic-inducing.

* * *

 **(age 5)**

I hummed softly, swinging Margaret's arm back and forth as we walked. She'd turned eleven not too long ago—I forgot sometimes that there was a seven-year age gap between us.

There was the clattering of wooden swords that caught my attention. I perked up, curious about who it was that was training. I tugged Margaret toward the sound. She laughed softly at my eagerness.

If I was right, this _might_ be Gilthunder and Melly. The scene in which Melly tells Gil those magic words—I was excited to get to witness my first official 'scene', and possibly be a part of it.

"—never going to make it." Gilthunder bemoaned, catching his breath.

Margaret and I stopped short of going any closer, just watching the scene play out in front of us.

"I know I'll never become as strong as father and you, Meliodas."

"Look you…" Melly lifted the wooden sword from his shoulder, looking partly confused at Gil's sudden change in attuite. "First you've got to lose that negative attitude."

"Your eyes can see through evil. You mouth utters the truth." Margaret moved forward. I nearly cooed in awe, I'd always loved how well Margaret and Gilthunder got along, they seemed made for each other. Gil would make a good king when Margaret took the throne. "Your heart is filled with justice, and your sword shall crush evil."

I moved over to Melly, grinning up at him. He chuckled softly, discarding the sword to pick me up. I turned to look at the future couple.

"To stand by what you believe is right till the end, isn't that the most important thing for a knight?"

"M-Margaret!" Gil pushed himself to his feet in surprise.

"It has nothing to do with Meliodas or your father. You're you." She smiled. "Someday, you're going to be the kindest, most powerful knight of all, Gil. That's what I believe."

Gil smiled, cheeks tinting red from her words.

"Somebody's gonna be hen-pecked…" Melly commented, I absently reached up and pinched his cheek as the future couple flushed.

"Rude!" I chimed. Melly grinned and nuzzled his nose against my cheek. "Balance each other!"

Melly blinked, raising a brow at me. His eyes flickered with amusement and curiosity. Whoops.

"And how do you know that, Beth?"

"Just do!" I grinned again and tapped my nose twice. Meliodas laughed.

* * *

…

I stirred.

…

I blinked awake, partly in confusion. It was still dark out and I was tired still but… why had I awoken? I couldn't remember having a bad dream.

Never mind.

… _Elizabeth…_

* * *

"Howzey!" I squealed and tackled him—or attempted to anyway.

"Bethy!" The dark blond ruffled my hair.

I scrambled onto his back and pointed forward. "Onward, trusty steed!"

He laughed, taking off in a run.

* * *

 **(age 6)**

"Ellie, wait!" Veronica rushed after me, but I was too busy chasing after the tabby cat I'd seen.

I didn't pay any attention to the bridge ahead until I was already on it and Veronica snagged my arm. I yelped, her grip painful and the bridge sway, creaking underneath us. My pulse jumped in nervousness.

"How many times have we told you about running off?" She glared down at me sternly but my focus was on the bridge below us. "Ellie, are you even listening to me?"

"The bridge." I whimpered, Veronica paused just as the wood below us began to bend under our weight.

"Don't move."

But the bridge had already decided it was going to give out. We fell through the planks and into the river, I squealed mostly in surprise but Veronica's shout of pain pulled me back. I swam partly against the river towards her and the river bank.

I helped pulled her out of the water and her leg was bleeding. She moaned, clutching at it. I bit my lip.

"I'm sorry!" I burst into tears. It was all my fault. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry!"

I ripped at my dress to wrap it around her leg but decided against it since there were wooden splinters in it.

"It's okay." Veronica finally answered, forcing a smile.

"No, it's not!" I bit back. "It's my fault!"

How the hell did Elizabeth use her powers? She didn't even consciously heal anyone—so how do I, knowing I have this power, heal her?! Powers are stupid!

I sniffled and began pulling the bigger ones out of the wound.

I pulled another piece and set a hand beside the wound, trying to see if I could spot anymore. Why couldn't I just—!

The thought tangent vanished the moment my hands lit up in a golden white glow. I gaped down at it—what?

I felt a gentle tugged in my chest as I focused on the wound and willing it to heal.

Veronica gasped, eyes wide in shock.

"Elizabeth! Veronica!"

Our names being shouted snapped Veronica out of her shock and she started shouting back.

* * *

"What on earth happened?" Dad questioned as soon as we'd been brought back up by Diana. The Sins had only just arrived back when it came to others attention we'd not been since in a short while.

"It was my fault!" I whimpered, clutching Melly's shirt tighter. "I was chasing a cat and got distracted! Veronica was trying to stop me when the bridge gave out!"

Dad sighed heavily. "You must be more careful Beth, one of you could have been hurt."

Veronica jumped in. "Actually, I was hurt." Eyes flickered to her but she continued. "But Ellie healed me."

"Healed you?" Melly questioned, his grip on me tightened as he turned to look at me. "Beth, is this true?"

I brought my face away from his neck and nodded, rubbed my tears away. "Yeah, dunno how, I was pulling the splinters from her leg then poof! White light."

Diana stifled her giggle.

Melly's grip just shifted nervously.

* * *

I debated whether to go to Henderickson about my powers. I wanted to, especially since I was sure he wasn't under Fraudrin control yet.

Eventually, I came to the conclusion, that yes, I was going to talk to him.

* * *

"Healing wounds is simple Druid magic." Henderickson explained. "Small wounds are something most can easily learn. Healing far greater wounds takes time and practice, but there are limits. It is mostly about finding those limits."

"I healed Veroncia's gash from the wood, how hard would that be?"

Henderickson hummed. "Well, I didn't see the wound, but my guess is that it wasn't too bad, correct?"

I nodded. "Like if you fall over and get grazed, but bigger."

"For a first time, small wounds are typically used to see if there's potential. Perhaps if you spend some time around the infirmary to heal some wounds then you'll be able to expand your abilities. My apologies for nothing having more knowledge."

"It's fine!" I beamed up at him. "You're still helping in any way you can!"

Henderickson smiled softly.

* * *

 **(age 7)**

"Can I learn archery?" I asked dad one evening.

Dad blinked, gaze turning onto me curiously. "What has made you want to learn, my dear?"

Honesty? I've always wanted to learn. Instead of saying that, I shrugged. "I saw some knights learning and thought it looked cool. Can I, dad?" I gave him puppy eyes.

He sighed. "Allow me to spend the night thinking on it, okay?"

I grinned. "Thanks, dad!" I hugged him.

"Now scram." He waved me off. "It's nearly bedtime for you."

I giggled and loped out the door.

* * *

"It's important to remember the bracer." Weinheidt commented as he tightened mine. "It's painful if the bowstring slaps your arm, and we don't want that now, do we?"

"Nope!" I nodded. I'm so excited!

I was surprised when I learned it was Weinheidt that was going to be my teacher, but the Dawn Roar hadn't become a thing yet, but Weinheidt was a well-known archer. He wasn't yet cleared for active duty, so he'd taken up teaching until then.

He was a really good shot, and I hope to get as good as him one day because I don't want to be some useless girl that needs saving the entire time. I want to support the Sins, even if that meant supporting from far back with a bow.

* * *

I rushed down the hallway, listening as the Holy Knights hunted. My pulse was jumping and I pushed myself forward. I had to find Melly.

I knew what had happened.

I'd heard faint shouting when I'd been in my room and thankfully Alice wasn't there to stop me from running off.

I heard voices—hushed voiced and I knew who they belonged too immediately. I rushed around the corner.

"Melly! M'lyn."

The two turned at almost neck-breaking speed. Meliodas' eyes widened. "Beth—"

* * *

 **Cliff-hanger *wiggles brows***

 **Snippets of roughly three years until the point of Zaratras's death and the Sins being labels as outlaws.**

 **Not much in terms of development happened during those years, and I'll be including flashbacks, later on, to fill in more blanks.**


	4. Adjustment

**I've decided to up the rating on this story, because while nothing's happened yet (won't for a little yet), I do plan to delve into more mature stuff. (cough) smut (cough cough)**

 **But even actual smut won't be for a long time, just more mature themes in general, is what I'm trying to get across, lol.**

 **Anyway, new cover also. I may go back and redo it at a later date, but it'll do for now ;)**

 **[27/5/2020—minor corrections]**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Adjustment**

" _Coke of can, anyone?"_

 _Mum groaned as we burst into laughter, it was a long time inside joke after all._

 **(Age 8)**

"Ouch!" I pouted and sucked on my finger. "Stupid needle."

I was determined to improve my sewing, I wanted to make my own clothes—don't get me wrong, I loved those that I was given as a princess, but I'd always dreamed of making my own, or for others.

 _And_ I wanted to make use of the skill when the times comes to find Melly. I'd taken textiles as a GCSE when at school, but I'd not wanted to go into that industry—despite how cool it would've been to make costumes and stuff. I wanted to help patch and even make new clothes for us all.

Ban's constant pink-red outfit during the first season was… well, I wasn't too keen on it. I wanted to make him something better.

I'd commandeered a few blank books for my sketching. My hand had become far steadier after I'd taken up archery. It helped me refine my skills once more, and I had started teaching myself to design and plan clothes. I had help from my sewing tutor and seamstresses that I'd gone out of the way to meet and speak to in regards to the process of creating clothing. They were more than willing to share their knowledge—whether that was because I was a princess or not, I wasn't sure, but I was thankful either way.

I had been doing a lot the last year, after waking up in the infirmary, hardly remembering anything that happened on _that_ day. (I'd been told I was found unconscious sitting against the way. I had a bump on my head which left with me a concussion for almost two agonising weeks.) It was all I could do to forget Mel, the sudden lack of his presence left a gaping hole in me—my lifeline was gone, and so I did the only thing I could think of: work to the point that I forgot about him.

It… it didn't work nearly as much as I liked, but when I _was_ focused, I could forget for a time. So I threw myself into my studies; politics, charity events, history and more. All the lessons a Princess would be expected to know. Thankfully, since there was little chance of me actually ascending to the throne, I was able to relax the slightest bit on more heavy topics.

Throwing myself headfirst into my studies had caused Dad, Veronica, Margaret, Howzer, and a number of others to worry but it was the only thing I had at the moment, the only true distraction because they could only fill the void for so long.

It didn't mean I stopped hanging around them, I just focused more on my studies then playing. I met Vivian for the first time while watching Gil train (I'd been sketching fighting stances) and it left a sick feeling in my stomach at the way she ogled over him from afar.

My chest hurt to think about everything that had happened in such a short amount time—I'd spotted that blasted crow that watched over Gil, not as much luck with Margaret however. Didn't mean I felt any less sick. I was tempted to just strangle the bitch and be done with it.

I focused back on the fabric and needle in my hands.

* * *

I drew the bowstring to my anchor point, which was the corner of my eye, and released. The arrow soared through the air until it hit the target, just outside the bullseye. I sighed and quickly notched another arrow and released.

My archery had improved greatly in the almost nine months I'd been practising. Weinheidt was pleased by my progress, but I found myself oddly frustrated. I clenched my jaw; I didn't understand the frustration—whatever was causing the weird feeling was getting obnoxious.

I reached for another arrow in my quiver, my fingers brushing the fletching but stopped and instead focused on the bow itself. I frowned, raising the shaft and drew the string without an arrow. I pulled it back to my anchor point, peering down at the target.

I took a deep breath, feeling the draw weight beginning to pull at my arm. I ignored it however and focused on the target again.

I closed my eyes, brushing against my magic—it was weird to think I had magic, and that magic was something like a core, the very centre of me. While not a tangible thing, I could mentally brush against the core and pull at it to draw on it.

My healing was coming along slowly—

I slowly lowered my bow

—but I'd only really made progress with healing minor wounds, larger ones were harder and took more out of me. It was… it left me exhausted if I wasn't careful about how often I used it. I could easily heal minor wounds for a while, but something like a sword injury was difficult; sometimes I managed to heal it halfway which was a headway.

I opened my eyes again and drew the bow, pulling at my core because it fluttered as I'd drew the string. My magic sang and I became increasingly aware of the glowing arrow now notched.

My eyes widened, but I focused on the target instead. I released and watched the arrow fly, piercing the bullseyes and sending the target airborne. My mouth dropped open as it finally landed and the arrow burst into soft sparks, vanishing.

My arms fell to my sides. "Huh."

(I failed to realise that the use of my power had activated the triskele symbol for the first time.)

* * *

… _Elizabeth…_

I jolted awake; pushing myself up, trying to catch my breath.

I blinked, peering around my room as I slipped my legs over the edge of my bed. I sighed. I kept hearing a strange voice call my name in my sleep. I don't know if it's from a dream I can't remember or something else. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter of the two.

I pushed myself to my feet and wandered to my window, pulling the curtain back to watch the night sky. The moon was already descending and the sky was slowly fading to the reds and oranges of a sunrise.

I kept the curtain pulled back and lit the candles in my room. I sat at my desk and flipped open my sketchbook. The first several pages were failed attempts at recalling what my Before family looked like.

I could picture them if I closed my eyes, but when I tried to _draw_ them, however, I could never get it right.

"Tch." I ripped the pages out and scrunched them up. No point keeping them if they were failures.

What's the point in trying to remember them anyway.

* * *

 **(Age 9)**

I stood beside Veronica as the party continued. It was Margaret's sixteenth birthday today. Everyone was here. Howzer, Griamore, Henderickson, Dryfus, _Gil_.

I avoid Henderickson and Dryfus as much as I could but there were times that I bumped into them or had to interact. Henderickson would ask how my studies were going and if I was making any progress.

I may have accidentally told him about the Light Arrows, as I'd dubbed them since they seemed to be made out of pure light. I hadn't hit someone—only targets—so I don't know what sort of damage I could do, but from the targets, I could possibly send someone flying or injury them more greatly then a regular arrow.

It also meant I didn't need to worry about carrying a quiver with me, which was an upside!

Henderickson had complimented me on my work. It felt genuine, and I'd like to think so, especially since I don't know how far his research has gone yet.

But back to the party, it hurt to watch Gil have to hold back his true emotions for Margaret because of Vivian. The two were dancing around each other, sending one another glances but never one speaking words of their affection.

* * *

We trot along the road, Weinheidt just a few steps ahead on his horse. I'd never left the wall surrounding Liones before, this was my first official outing actually. Ever. And it was because Weinheidt wanted to work on my skills with moving targets.

It was exciting! I finally get to go hunting!

The outing was meant to be just a few hours but, unfortunately, that didn't happen.

It was an hour into our journey—Weinheidt had a specific location in mind which was a two-hour ride—when we were jumped by a group of bandits. Lula, my horse, reared up in surprise.

"Get ready, Elizabeth!" Weinheidt ordered. It was for safety to just call me by my name.

I pulled my bow from my back, fixing the string in place and took aim at the closest bandit, I didn't hesitate in releasing a Light Arrow. The bandit screamed as it hit him in the chest, throwing him backwards at the same time.

The others bandits cried out for their fallen friend, but Weinheidt made quick work of them until all had been taken down.

I nearly dropped my bow, heart pounding in shock…

I… I just… did I really just kill a man?

"Your highness!" Weinheidt's hand on my shoulder brought me back, and I flinched but met his eyes. He'd jumped off his horse to approach.

"You did good." He nodded. "Remember it was either him or you. You must always remember that you understand?"

I nodded mutely, swallowing thickly. It didn't make it any easier

* * *

 **(Age 10)**

"May I go with you, dad?" I asked, _elegantly_ jogging after him. He was going to Camelot! I wanted to go with; I wanted to meet Arthur!

Dad slowed to a stop and peered down at me, I just gave puppy eyes. "Please?"

"I am going for politics, my dear." His eyes flickered with amusement. "I did not think you liked politics."

I pouted. "I don't, but I want to see another kingdom!"

Dad laughed heartily, patting my shoulder and teased: "Should I be worried about something you might be scheming?"

I spluttered. "N-no! That's not what—!"

He continued laughing. "As you wish, Beth."

I squealed in excitement. Yay!

* * *

"Slader."

The masked Knight rushed forward, rescuing Arthur from the fall. Arthur's brother, Kay, if I recalled correctly watch on silently. I'd seen how he'd thrown his sword at Arthur causing him to stumble backwards.

Slader leapt back up, holding the amber haired boy.

Goodness, he was adorable. He had the cowlick even at this age and even more adorable in person then the show.

But I'd come to the realisation that the people here were _real_ , and while most were still the same, they each had slight differences. Melly's height, Gil's hair being a darker pink, I could go on for a while if I wanted to.

Once Slader set Arthur on his feet, he thanked him and turned to Kay. "I don't blame you." Was all he said, it was likely referring to a conversation we'd not heard.

I listened to dad talk to Arthur, commending his kindness, and lightly mentioned he should be king instead of just a Holy Knight.

Dad revealing he was king was amusing to watch, Arthur's eyes had widened comically and he'd squawked. I couldn't stop the giggle of laughter that escaped.

"And this is my youngest daughter, Elizabeth." Dad introduced.

I curtsied. "It's lovely to meet you, Arthur."

He blushed and bowed. "And it is just as lovely to meet you, Princess Elizabeth."

I laughed softly.

* * *

"Camelot sure is beautiful!" I awed.

Arthur had offered to take me around the kingdom, well, as least the nicer areas for safety anyway.

"Thank you!" Arthur beamed. "Have you been to many other Kingdoms?"

I shook my head and grinned. "No, this is my first time visiting another. I gave my father the puppy eyes to get him to agree to allow me to come along."

We shared a laugh. God, I already love this precious boy. Our laughter petered off slowly and I finally asked something that had been bothering me.

"May I ask why it is that your brother doesn't like you?" I tilted my head. "You seem so kind and want nothing more than to get along."

Arthur sighed. "Well, you see, I'm adopted. So I think it originally came from anger at our father. But it just grew into hate because I was more skilled then him—n-not that I'm bragging or anything!"

I grinned and winked. "Don't worry, Arthur."

He sighed heavily in relief.

"I'm adopted as well, you know."

Arthur's eyes widened. "R-really? But… I thought you'd always been with the Kingdom since birth."

I shook my head and explained: "I was brought there when I was a baby by a friend, my mother, the late Queen, decided she wanted to adopt me. I'm ever grateful and will love my parents for the rest of my life because of that."

We wandered by a poster board and slowed to a stop when I realised there were wanted posters. I moved toward it curiously, huh. They had the Sin's posters up here. It was weird to see because they looked similar yet different to the future ones—but the artists were likely ageing them up slowly each time they made new ones over the years.

"The Seven Deadly Sins, huh." Arthur mused. "I want to be able to meet Meliodas one day."

"Aren't they criminals?" I teased.

He flushed. "It's just that I'd heard about what they did and really admired it, but to hear about what they'd done… something doesn't seem right, you know?"

I nodded. "Something fishy happened, for sure, I'd met the Sins before they were outlawed and they were all really nice. Something like them supposedly attempting to overthrow father was jarring and unreal almost."

"You don't think they did it?" Arthur turned to me, eyes wide. I nodded.

* * *

 **(Age 11)**

 _Hunting trip, hunting trip_ , I hummed gleefully as Weinheidt and I road along the path. We'd been on a few since the original incident, thankfully we'd never had any more trouble in regards to bandits.

Whenever father agreed to allow these trips, it was always exciting.

Although Weinheidt would be joining the Dawn Roar soon, and so this would be our last trip for a while, a kind of fair well as I'd jokingly commented, Weinheidt had laughed.

* * *

Okay, so I may have spoken too soon. Again.

I rushed through the forest, listening to the shouts of some bandits. Weinheidt and I had been split apart and I'd only managed to grab my bow before running. Though, it seemed the bandits knew who I was and were going to attempt to ransom me off.

That's so _not_ going to happen.

I leapt over a rock and the drop was further then I'd thought it was going to be and I slipped, skidding down the slope made of rock and soil. I landed jarringly and grunted, grimacing.

"She's down here!"

"Crap." I hissed and pushed myself to my feet and took off running—

I hit the ground, screaming. It took several long and agonising seconds to realise I'd been hit with an arrow. I sobbed, wanting the pain to stop.

"There you are."

I was yanked up, and I screeched, the movement just moved the arrow in my thigh. I fought against the man holding me. "Let go!"

"Shut up, brat!" He snickered. "You're gonna get us quite the sum of money."

I spat in his face, and he sneered, shoving me to the ground again. I cried out, feeling the arrow bend. He shoved his foot on my chest and I choked on a breath, the pressure of his foot _heavy_.

I don't remember much after that. I was told that my magic had reacted defensively and attacked the bandits that had been attacking me, taking them all out at once.

I could recall only that of a bright explosion, and that I was exhausted and drained for days afterwards.

* * *

"It's a goddess mark." Henderickson confirmed.

Because oh my god, the explosion of my magic had active the triskele in my eye.

Dad sighed heavily. "So what does that mean exactly?"

"She's an Apostle of the Goddess race." Henderickson answered.

I clasped my hands together. "Is… is that a bad thing?"

"No." He shook his head. "Far from it, but it may attract the wrong sort of people who wish to use you selfishly."

 _Like Fraudrin?_ I bitterly thought. "Then… what should we do?"

 _Eye patch, eye patch, please say eye patch._

"It would beneficial it cover her eye to hid it." The Grand Master dipped his chin. "Perhaps an eye patch or sorts?"

"We could say your sight has weakened." Dad nodded, eyes solely on me. I blinked up at him. "Is that okay, my dear?"

I nodded. "It's alright."

Hell, yeah.

* * *

 **Next chapter is where the fun really starts ;)**


	5. Reunited

**This one took a bit longer to write, but definitely worth it! I'm really proud of it lol.**

 **I look forward to knowing your thoughts!**

 **(Age 17)**

 **Beth is a year older then Elizabeth, so it was ten years since Zaratras's death.**

 **[27/5/2020—minor corrections.]**

* * *

 **Chapter 5:** Reunited

" _Please open the door!"_

I jumped at the loud banging, I bit my lip and tightened my grip on dad's armchair.

" _There's nowhere left to run!"_

Dad's hand resting on my arm brought my eyes back to him. "Elizabeth, you must go."

"Can't you come with?"

"I will be fine."

"But—"

"Hurry, before the Holy Knights get through." Dad interrupted, his voice firm but gentle all at once. I ground my jaw back and forth, I really didn't want to leave him but… the banging stopped, then sparks began flickering.

Seeing the change, I panicked and stood, rushing over to the servants' passage behind the banner. I pushed it open and slipped in, closing it behind me. I listened with my heart in my throat as the main door finally gave way. I backed away as I heard Gil's voice.

I picked the front of my dress up and hurried along. If I moved quickly enough, I could get to a back and secluded exit from the kingdom. Veronica and I had discovered it years prior when we'd gone exploring. Thank god for that.

Once I shoved the stiff stone door open, I heard the sound of a horse. I waited for a moment before moving again. I peered around the corner and spotted just who I needed.

I rushed forward. "Howzer!" I called in a hushed tone. He turned to me, face filling with relief.

"I got a random horse, I thought getting Lula would be too obvious." He commented as I began to unstrap my dress portion. I'd made it removable for this very purpose.

"B-Beth?!" He spluttered. "What are you—?"

"A dress will only slow me down." I shrugged and climbed onto the brown coated horse. I teased: "Plus I'm wearing trousers and a leotard underneath."

He sighed heavily. "I've got to get back, be safe alright? Don't make me blow my cover and come find you."

I grasped his hand that rested on the stirrup, holding it tightly with both of mine. "Thank you, Howzer. I'll repay you someday."

"I'm your friend." He stressed. "Repay me by keeping safe, got it?"

I smiled and kicked the horse into a canter.

* * *

Hawk grumbled, angrily kicking the dirt below his hoofs. "I don't know why I even put up with the guy!"

There had been an incident which ultimately resulted in the tavern owner insulting and threatening the pig with cooking him. Thankfully, the Boar Hat had closed for the night and he'd eaten his delicious scraps, so he didn't have to worry about going back any time soon for them!

But Hawk continued to grumble about his blond companion when he reached the river bank nearby. He paused for a moment and his nose caught the smell of something coppery which was odd because there wasn't anything around to make that smell. With his curiously spiked, Hawk began to follow the smell, until he finally discovered just what was causing it.

His eyes widened, a squawk escaped and he rushed forward to the unconscious and bleeding girl that lay on the river bank.

"Miss?!" He called, it was a stupid attempt to get her to wake up, and knowing he wasn't going to be able to do anything himself, Hawk began rushing back towards the Boar Hat with impossible speed.

He burst through the door, surprising Meliodas who was finishing up the cleaning for the night. Meliodas blinked.

"Porky." He deadpanned. "What's the matter this time?"

"There's an unconscious girl at the river bank!" He grabbed a piece of the blond's trouser in his mouth, tugging him towards the door. "She's hurt!"

Meliodas dropped the cloth, and rushed out the door, following after Hawk. They skidding down an embankment, and Meliodas's nose picked up the smell of blood and he was hit with— _ **familiar**_.

His demonic side reared its head angerly as he realised just who it was at that riverbank.

Elizabeth.

 _His_ _Beth_

It took a lot of his strength to hold back the growl that rumbled in his chest wanting to escape. _How dare_ —when he got his hands on the bastards that had hurt her—

He dropped to his knees beside her, hands hesitant to touch, unsure about what type of injuries she bore and if turning her would worsen them. Eventually, he rolled her over to reveal a long gash on her hip and small nicks on her skin. He let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding, and napped her bag, throwing it over his shoulder before lifting her.

She hung limply in his grip, head coming to rest against his shoulder but she was breathing, and that was all that mattered to him in that instant.

* * *

"I wonder what happened." Hawk questioned as he watched Meliodas work to clean and bandage her thankfully minor flesh wounds. She was sleeping peacefully, which was all they could ask for at that moment.

Meliodas hadn't spoken a word since they'd recused her, he broke his silence with: "She was attacked." His voice was tight and Hawk shifted at the tone, not having heard it from the blond before.

If… if Hawk was more confident in his emotion identifying, he'd say Meliodas's tone was… angry, dark, a controlled fury. He never heard that tone before, it left him uneasy.

"Who'd attack her then?" Hawk mused, trying to push those thoughts aside. She seemed pretty harmless, minus the bow she had on her person, but she didn't have a quiver full of arrows—maybe she'd lost it?

"We'll just have to ask her when she wakes up, won't we?" Meliodas smiled over his shoulder at Hawk, a stark contrast to the serious look moments before.

"Imma head to bed then." Hawk hummed and began for the door, then turned back around with a pointed look. "Don't even think of doing anything to her!"

He scampered off, leaving the demon by himself to watch over the unconscious Beth. Meliodas watched the door for a moment before his eyes swerved back to her.

He shifted, his blood sung for revenge because how dare they lay a hand on what's his. His, _his,_ _ **his**_ —

Beth stirring brought Meliodas back, the Hellblaze that had begun to creep along his skin retracted and he let out a heavily breath. He shimmed forward, wondering if she was waking up.

A dazed blue eye blinked open—curiously, the other had an eyepatch—and exhaustion was evident in her features. Her brows furrowed in confusion, then her eye widened and she jolted upwards.

Meliodas jumped forward, hands landing on her shoulder. "It's okay." She jerked away from him, a strangled noise escaped. "You're safe." His grip tightened but in a reassuring way.

She fought against his grip for a few more moments, seemingly out of pure bodily reaction before she settled, muscles tense.

She blinked up at him, Meliodas could tell she wasn't very coherent, her exhaustion getting the better of her. "Huh? Wha—?"

"You're safe." He soothed again, gently pushing her back onto the mattress.

She squirmed under his grip, eyes searching the dimly light room, evidently looking for something familiar to her but when she didn't find anything her single blue eye returned to him, she frowned again, this time in confusion. "I—I, I—"

"Just rest." Meliodas pulled the cover over her. "We'll talk in the morning, okay?"

She made a humming sound from the back of her throat as she settled, falling back to sleep. Meliodas sighed and drew back. His brows became pinched, however, as his eyes landed on her eye patch again. His fingers twitched, a hand reaching to pull it up, but he paused just shy of touching it.

 _No_ , he shook his head and stepped back, he'd ask her about it instead of prying without her consent—but it didn't mean it didn't leave him wondering if there was a _specific_ reason to cover that eye.

* * *

I was comfortable.

That was all I _really_ knew as I came too; I was covered with a soft duvet and the mattress was plush. But with heavy lids, I forced my eyes open as I became increasingly aware of my injuries.

A brown wooden ceiling with green support beams was the first thing I saw. There was a flash of familiarity but I couldn't place it. The walls were a yellow cream with the wall beams the same green. There were pale pink coloured curtains covering the window.

I squinted lightly—I couldn't place where I had seen it before.

I shoved that away as I pushed myself into a sitting position. I took that chance to glance around properly. It was a nice room but had to be a master room, instead of a guest.

I sighed and slipped my legs over the side of the bed. The last thing I could remember was some Holy Knights chasing me. I had to abandon the horse only a week into my journey, it was too much of a risk and so I continued on foot. But I had been caught off guard and I'd run, only to jump into a river of rapids to escape. I couldn't remember anything after that, so I guess I'd passed out.

I was seriously lucky to be alive, I could have— _should_ have—drowned. I must have washed ashore at an embankment during a slow-moving part of the river.

My bag sat on a chair placed beside the bed. It had been placed their purposefully, the way it was sitting practically screamed it. I reached forward, pulling the bag onto my lap where I searched through it. I wasn't missing anything and thankfully my sketchbook was not a complete wreck despite the swim I'd taken.

 _A completely logical explanation for that, I'm sure_ , I mused in amusement but dumped my bag on the bed as I stood. I sway, suddenly light-headed. I sat back down again, I'd stood a bit too quickly.

I worked up the courage to stand again, this time the light-headedness was nowhere near as bad and I shuffled for the green door. I opened it and peered down the staircase. It was the middle floor by the looks of it.

Why was this so familiar?

I heard movement from downstairs, along with voices that were muffled because of the distance. It took me a moment to gather enough strength to climb down the stairs. I took it slowly and my heart jolts into a fast beat to match my nervousness.

When I reached the bottom step I stopped short; I listened to the talking. I instantly recognised Hawk's voice, even after sixteen years. The feminine tone and his speech pattern was something I'd always found adorable.

Meliodas answered Hawk's question about me and when I'd wake up and I shimmed backwards until my ankles hit the bottom step; he _must_ know that I was awake, despite answering that he didn't know, but was choosing to wait for me to make my appearance at my own pace.

I clutched my elbows as the situation finally hit me. _Oh, God._

Suddenly I found it hard to breathe, an invisible hand clasping my throat and I felt my body tremble like I was nothing more than an observer in my own body.

A panic attack, I realised numbly.

I heard my blood pumping in my ears and for a moment, I thought my heart was going to burst from my ribcage.

My knees trembled but I didn't have a chance to hit the ground because I was caught. At the back of my mind, I knew it was Meliodas, but the front didn't come to the same realisation. It didn't matter because I clutched his shirt like it was a lifeline and buried my face into his shoulder.

I was hit with the smell of wheat and—I grasped onto that thought, using it to ground myself, I needed to focus. He smelt of fresh wheat—maybe ale, but it was a light smell, likely because of his occupation. There was something I couldn't place despite how much I tried to think and think and think _and_ _think_ —

"Wha—happening?"

"She's hav—panic attack—be quiet."

It was like I was submerged underwater.

I nearly jolted when a hand ran through my hair, it was a familiar sensation—Mel had always done that when I was younger. I craved that feeling oddly enough.

I took a breath, trying to take a deep one in an attempt to slow my erratic heartbeat. I clenched and unclenched my fists repeatedly.

I choked on a breath and Meliodas shifted slightly, his other hand moving down from my shoulder to my shoulder blade.

I bowed my head, finally myself again, despite how tired I was feeling after my panic attack. "M'sorry."

"Hey, no need to apologise." Mel pat my head.

I pulled back, his grip lingered slightly before he dropped his hands. I glanced over his shoulder into the tavern before back to his concern face. "Where am I?"

Meliodas smiled, sitting back on his heels, arms resting on his knees before the look turned to concern. "You're in the Boar Hat, I'm the owner of this place. We found you unconscious at the riverbank last night. What happened? How'd you end up like that?"

I grimaced, however before I could say a word there was a loud banging on the door. I froze.

" _Open up! We, the Order of the Beard of the Mountain Cat, serve under the Holy Knights and are stationed at the mountain's base! We're in search of a wanted woman! All buildings in the area must be searched!"_

A faint "Oh no" escaped before I could stop it.

"Guess that explains it." Meliodas hummed.

"Have you got a back door?" I asked meekly.

He blinked. "Yes, it's in the kitchen."

I stood, ignoring the light-headedness this time and made for the kitchen door. "Sorry for the inconvenience."

"Hold on a second." He grabbed my arm and I stopped. "I'll try and distract them while you sneak out back, okay?"

It was my turn to blink. "Are—Are you sure?"

He nodded.

" _Hey!"_ Another voice shouted this time. _"Open up!"_

Meliodas released my arm and I loped into the kitchen and opened the door, just as I heard Meliodas open the main door.

"You bellowed?"

I stifled a giggle, but I peered around just as the first guy spoke again, angrily this time. Mel and Hawk bantered something offensive between themselves and he'd not taken it lightly.

But it was also my chance. I dropped off the wooden patio and tried (keying being _tried_ ) to sneak into the woods but, much like the show, I was caught.

"Allioni! A woman ran out the back!"

Damnit.

I heard them give chase, but because of my head start, I was able to keep a distance. I leapt over a log, then skidded under a root that went through a dried up river.

I heard a commotion behind me, probably Hawk.

But just as I reached the tree line, I was snatched up. I yelped, the scenery becoming a blur of motion and I was suddenly up in a tree in Meliodas's arms—where he promptly groped my breast. He gave a satisfied nod and I felt my cheeks burn red. I squeaked again, crossing my arms in an attempt to stop him. He just grinned at me, I gave a deadpan.

"Thanks." I said shortly, I need to try and remember the times he might grope me.

"I'm telling you, lady, feel free to punch him." Hawk glared up at Meliodas.

It was then I realised the knights had been dealt with.

I promptly flicked Meliodas's nose. He just grinned again.

I probably just egged him on, but funnily enough, if this turned into a game, I'd very much enjoy playing it.

Meliodas's stood and jumped down. My stomach twirled at the sensation of falling.

He set me on my feet and I finally got the chance to see our height difference. There wasn't all that much. Oddly enough, I was nothing more than a thumb length taller. Huh.

"So why are you a wanted woman anyway?" Hawk asked.

I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. "Well you see, I'm actually the Third Princess of Liones."

"Ehhh?!" Hawk gapped up at me, and I bit back a smile at his bewilderment.

"Then you're a runaway?" Meliodas tilted his head, brows furrowing.

"Not really, but kind of?" I offered. I had no idea what I was technically classed as. I crossed my arms and clutched my elbows as I put on a more serious face. "You see, the Holy Knights are attempting to start a Holy War, they've even gone as far as to locked my father and sisters up."

"I thought the king was sick?" Hawk questioned.

"They used my father's sickness as the linchpin." I pursed my lips. "I don't know what they're trying to accomplish by starting a war." _Lies_. "But they're conscripting people from the kingdom and surrounding villages, making preparations slowly but surely. Their reach will probably extend out here soon."

"Seriously?"

"That's rough." Meliodas commented apathetically.

I snorted as Hawk chastised him for his tone. "You never take anything seriously!"

"But what are you trying to accomplish by running? What's your plan?"

"Eh." I tilted my head and gave him a deadpan look. "I was looking for you, Meliodas."

His eyes flashed wide with his surprise and something else that I couldn't name. "Wait, you recognised me? Why didn't you say something before?"

"Well, I didn't really have a ch—"

The cliff gave way and then we were falling. I couldn't stop the startled shout that escaped. Oddly enough the descent felt slow.

"Oh, give me a break!" Hawk yelled.

I spotted Meliodas oh-so-casually falling from the corner of my eye and I bit back the snort of laughter.

I hit a piece of earth and flailed a bit in surprise before I felt an arm around my waist and my vision was a motion of blur once more.

"I've gotcha." Mel grunted as he landed feet first. Instinctively, my arms grasped his shoulders, my fingers clenching at his shirt. Meliodas moved again, grabbing Hawk and the semi-conscious Allioni. He leapt out of the way of the falling debris and then launched us up into the air and up the cliff face.

It was a weird feeling, moving so fast—kind of like bungee jumping, almost feeling like your insides are weightless.

Then we were back up top, and I sucked in a breath, feeling my heart pound in both exhilaration and nervousness.

"You there!" Whatever his name was—I couldn't actually remember, he was a minor character that died quickly after all. "How dare you lot survive without my leave!—"

I gave a strangled noise in an attempt to cover my snort. I felt the breath of an airy chuckle against my cheek from Meliodas.

"—I shan't revise my death tally conclusion!"

"Nobody asked you to conclude anything!" Hawk shouted in return.

"Hey, you okay Beth?"

I blinked. "Y-yeah?"

"When I give the signal, run towards the forest. Got that?"

I mutely nodded as Meliodas set me back on my feet. I turned back to the knights just in time to see his eyes widened then move forward. I felt my stomach drop.

"Fate is smiling upon me today! The crest on that earring is that of the royal family. Meaning that you… in conclusion, Princess Elizabeth!"

I meekly stepped back, clutching my elbows again.

"So you really are a Princess?!" Hawk squeaked. I ignored him, feeling the blood drain from my face, and focused on the approaching Holy Knight.

"An official decree has been issued to locate you. The order was to capture you alive, but if you died in an accident, that would be regrettable but unavoidable."

 _Shit_.

"Run!"

I moved, rushing for the treeline, listening to Hawk and Meliodas behind me.

"Conclusion! Accidental death!"

I both threw myself at the ground and was rugby tackled at the same time I felt the use of magic.

I clenched my eyes shut, listening to the loud sound of falling trees and rustling leaves. There was a huff above me and I twisted my head to look up at Meliodas as I felt his hair brushed against my face.

I blinked as I met his eyes.

"Are you okay?" I rasped, eyeing the rips in his clothing. I spotted his signature red dragon tattoo.

He gave a jerky nod. "Completely fine."

I let out a breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding.

Meliodas turned his gaze away and I follow his sight to Hawk who had a rather big stick in his back. "You okay, Hawk? Looks like it."

Hawk gave the best deadpan look a pig could give. "I'm a pork-on-a-stick! You call this okay?!" He burst into tears and ran off. "Mummy!"

"A pig? Well, no matter…"

I pushed myself onto my knees and watched as the guy approached, raising his sword then—

I curled inwards, tensing as I felt his magic—a weak spicy smell (I wasn't sure how to describe my weird ability to feel magic as scents) that I could taste on my tongue—filled the air only for it to be overtaken by another. My breath caught as it was tinted with the smell of wheat and— _pomegranate_? (That was it! That was the other piece of Meliodas's odour—odour sounds weird, _aura_. I'll go with an aura) and there was a strong gust of wind that sent my hair flying wildly.

I opened my eyes as the guy was sent stumbling back.

"How can this be?" He snarled in confusion. "I'm certain I struck you! But I was the one to—What is that?!" His open monologue was weird. "A sword with a broken blade?"

I stood, clutching my elbows again—that seems to be becoming a habit.

"Hold on, your face seems familiar." He drew back in shock, only for the look to turn horrified. "But if you are—how can you look the exact same as you did—?!"

Meliodas dropped into position. "So, have you figured out who I am?"

"I-It can't be!" The look horror got even worse if possible. He drew his own sword back. "It truly is you!" And swung his sword down, only for Meliodas to swipe his broke one.

I smelt wheat and pomegranate again, far more than before that I could taste it this time, and watched as Meliodas preformed _Full Counter_.

I turned away, shielding my face from the explosion. I listened to the scream, the sound getting quieter the further he flew.

"Seven Deadly Sins, Wrath Sin: Meliodas," Meliodas commented quietly to the man no longer standing before us.

My heart pounded.

Meliodas put his sword away and peered back at me. "All good? No other injuries?" He moved closer, a worried furrow of his brow appeared.

I waved a hand. "I-I'm completely fine." _Just a bit breathless_ _in awe_ , I added silently.

Meliodas hummed. "I guess you wanted my help with the Holy Knights, right?"

I nodded and he smiled, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Guess we better find the other Sins then. More than one is always better, especially since I've been wanting to find them anyway." He wiggled his brows, a grin stretching across his face. "And what's better than a girl to help draw in customers and intel?"

"…As long as I can make my own outfit." I squinted at him. "I don't trust you to give me something _normal_."

He grinned wider and I deadpanned.

His laugh made me realise just how _much_ I missed him. I felt rather breathless again.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed my take one the first episode! I had fun writing it!**

 **Also, on a said note in regards to their heights:**

 **Meliodas is 5'2" in this, and Beth is between 5'3" and 5'4" (the latter of which Elizabeth is) and so realistically, there wouldn't be that much of a height difference then what they're drawn as even if Meliodas was his original height of 5'0".**


	6. First Night

**This is purely from Meliodas's POV. This idea came to me while writing the next chapter (original chapter 6) and I liked the idea enough for it to be a stand-alone. Chapter 7 should be done sometime soon, hopefully.**

 **I've also decided I wanted to do a X-mas special of sorts which may or may not include some smut ;)**

 **New cover** _ **again**_ **, but I'm finally truly happy with it. I saw a piece of fanart of Meliodas and Elizabeth and based it on that. :)**

 **Hope you enjoy.**

 **[27/5/2020—minor corections]**

* * *

 **Chapter 6:** First Night

He lay there, staring at the ceiling, feeling the good kind of exhausted and oh-so ready to go to sleep but—

But sleep eluded him and the reason why was asleep roughly ten feet above him.

Princess Elizabeth of Liones; his Elizabeth; his _Beth_.

Meliodas rolled onto his side, curling up around his pillow as he squeezed his eyes closed in a failing attempt to sleep. But after five minutes, he gave up knowing it would be useless.

He huffed, almost angrily at the way his brain denied him rest because—

 _Elizabeth was upstairs._

Meliodas shifted and rolled onto his back again with a sigh. He supposed, in a way, it was a good thing. That Hawk had found her, that is. Who knew who else could have come across her, there were plenty of unsavoury men that wouldn't think twice before taking advantage of an unconscious young woman.

A shiver travelled up his spine at the thought.

But a laugh welled up at the back of his throat at how Fate worked—they were always brought back together.

It had been ten years since he'd last seen her; she had been a child—eight years old—and so curious about the world. But what still bothered him to this day was that he couldn't remember anything but the morning of the day they'd been hailed as murderers.

All he heard in his sleep for weeks after was Beth calling for him and Merlin.

 _("Melly! M'lyn.")_

Meliodas was amazed she remembered him in all honesty—it had been ten years and memories fade. That Beth had looked so… so unsurprised to learn it was him that found her, but then again, she did have a _panic attack_ , and before they could even swap names those knights had shown up looking for her…

He was quick to bury his anger at the knight's sheer _audacity_ to even attempt to harm his Beth.

 _ **How dare he try and**_ **kill** _ **her; we should have killed him, not spared his pathetic life.**_

Meliodas clenched his jaw, squeezed his eyes shut and clutched at the pillow so tightly he was surprised it didn't rip.

Bad, _bad_ thoughts. He couldn't allow himself to let those thoughts taint his mind because it would only lead him down a dark path.

When he'd seen Beth at the riverside, unconscious and vulnerable. He'd been hit with the sight of pink hair and blood-covered face.

 _Liz_.

It was too uncomfortably alike to Liz's… Liz's—Meliodas sat up, tugging harshly at his hair. Stop, _stop_.

He can't—

He thought of Beth instead—silver-white hair pulled into a bun, blues eye with a black eyepatch that peered at him curiously and intelligently. Fingers that were lightly coarse from years of sewing and handling a bow. Short status like himself, evenly balanced lips, thick dark lashes, that crinkle at the corner of her eyes when she was amused—

Seventeen. She was seventeen, Meliodas reminded himself. Technically considered sexually mature but— _young_.

Well, considered prime marrying age by most fathers but that was _beside the point_.

Meliodas dragged his hands down his face. He was _doomed_ , he would always love his Elizabeth, even now knowing she was so close had his hearts drumming.

Likely hadn't even had her first kiss yet. No doubt she had admirers, Elizabeth was always so beautiful and if anybody had dared too—

 _Nope, stop you idiot!_

But Meliodas was concerned about the reason Beth was forced to escape Liones in the first place—if she was right, then something even worse than politicking in an attempt to gain more control, whether that was to overthrow the King or something else _within_ the kingdom, was happening.

She was worried—the Holy Knights using the King's illness to seize control seemed to only to be the beginning.

Meliodas wondered if Beth had trouble falling to sleep—despite knowing him, this was an unfamiliar place and unfamiliar could leave someone tossing and turning for a while before finding some sort of peace.

He strained his ears, searching for some sort of sound—soft and even breathing.

She was sleeping.

For a moment, Meliodas felt bewildered—how could she have fallen asleep so… so easily?

Did she just feel that comfortable and safe around him, even after all this time and the fact he and the others had supposedly killed the previous Great Holy Knight Zaratras?

Meliodas wanted to scoff but sighed instead, why did everything have to be so—so _cruel_.


	7. One-shot: Respectful Etiquette

**So it's not smut like i had originally planned, couldn't get it to work with the idea I had planned. So you'll have to wait for a little only for that sort of thing.**

 **I'd also like the mention a few things: this includes assault, it's not exactly a Christmas-y one-shot, originally I wanted to integrate humour and obviously the smut but after unable to do that, I still wanted to stick with the prompt. I won't be including a lot of this sort of thing int he actual story often, so I wanted to write something like this.**

 **It's short but dragging it out more makes the flow awkward.**

 **Set some time after King joins but before Meliodas' sword is stolen.**

 **This includes a panic attack, it's minor and not the main focus but it does happen.**

 **(I hope you guys have a great Christmas, and if you don't celebrate, hope you have a generally good holiday.)**

* * *

 **Respectful Etiquette**

It had happened before, minor instances really—nothing that made him more than just annoyed, mostly because Beth handled the unwanted attention remarkably well.

Pointed looks, stern words and that _I'm not mad, just disappointed_ stare that she had perfected would often discourage and dissuade a large majority of men and Hawk was always there when his quote-unquote 'pervert senses' started tingling.

Honestly, Meliodas was glad he had no need to step in because the likelihood he'd end up injuring the offending party was, well, higher than it should. Had he not been who he was, he doubted such an outcome would happen but he wasn't fond when others touched his Beth.

He and Ban were the typically last resort, King and Hawk always handled them well and the patron stirring trouble left after paying for what he (and his friends if it was all of them) brought.

However this evening the Boar Hat was busy and far rowdy than normal. Or seemed that way anyway, Beth was running back and forth to deliver drink or food and Meliodas could already see she was lagging behind the slightest bit, overwhelmed by the number of patrons. And something in Meliodas's gut was telling him something was bound to happen, he just didn't know when or how.

There was a yell, the chattering of a tray and cups hitting the ground, and Beth reared back, arms crossing to cover her breasts, eyes wide in modification.

The man leered up at her, very much revelling in her discomfort. "Problem, gorgeous?"

(At the door to the kitchen both King and Ban lingered, drawn by the yell. King made to move forward, to tell the men to scram when Ban grabbed his arm. King shot him a confused look.

"Don't bother." Was all Ban said.)

Beth just took another step back, arms still very much crossed over her chest, mostly now in an attempt to hide her shaking hands, her heart pattering harshly in her chest. She swallowed and tried to not allow her breathing to become short in her anxiety. "I—no.."

"Ah, c'mon sweetie. We just want to talk a bit." His eyes flickered up and down her and Beth felt objectified.

The man reached out, making an attempt to swipe Beth by the clothing at her waist but it never met fabric. Halfway a hand brought it to an abrupt halt, the hand tightening its grip and the man grunted in pain.

"Beth, is there a problem?" Meliodas smiled at her while retaining the grip and not letting up an inch.

"I—I." She couldn't stop the stutter, looking much like a deer in headlights. Her chest hurt, tight and felt like it was crushing her heart that was beating too fast.

Ban finally moved, appearing beside Beth, hand gently settling on her shoulder. She flinched, wide eyes turning to the man. "Let's go get some fresh air." He whispered quietly and with a hand on the small of her back, guided Beth to the kitchen.

(Ban peered back only once to see Meliodas had already turned his eyes back to the man, expression controlled and the immortal man knew the Captain was pissed—beyond that even.

Ban just hopes he doesn't kill anyone. It would be bad for business.)

"I think you and your friends ought to pay your bills and _leave_." Meliodas's smile didn't give anything away, but his grip certainly did, the man's fingers were beginning to turn red from the lack of blood flow.

The man wrenched his hand way, Meliodas allowed him. Reining in his temper was _far_ more important. Not only had he groped Beth, but forced to her teeter on the edge of a panic attack.

"Listen, brat." The man gave a haughty sniff.

"No, _you_ listen." Meliodas bit back the snarl that bubbled in his chest and instead managed to simply glare. "Who are you to come here, into _my_ tavern and harass my waitress like that? Just because you're paying for food and drink does not give you free rein to assault the staff. Now, you _will_ pay your bills and leave. Don't think I'll say it a third time, because I'm not going too."

Instead of answering, the man sneered and made to shove the tavern owner, his friends cheering him on.

It ending quickly and it was rather anticlimactic.

Meliodas grabbed the man's arm and with his free hand landed an open-handed punch to his solar plexus. The force, while weak compared to his true strength, still sent the man flying. The tavern door open just in time too, the to-be patrons quickly ducked out of the way as the man soared past them.

Meliodas turned to the friends. "Well?"

They dumped their money and scrambled to get out. As they lurched through the doorway, Diana glared down at them all and they grabbed their downed friend before sprinting away.

Hawk made a comment on leftovers but Meliodas didn't care much as he'd already started for the kitchen.

Ban was lent against the doorframe of the open backdoor. He met the Captain's eyes briefly before nodding and left the way Meliodas entered.

The demon took a moment to take a breath to cool his anger the best he could, it still fizzled beneath his skin, howled for justice, and it had been made worse because of Beth's attack.

He stepped outside to see Beth sat on the edge, bowed over and shaking. He knelt in front of her, hand gently settling on the back of her neck, thumb stroking soothing circles. He listened to her racing heart and short breath; could feel her quivering fingers when they reached up to clench at his shirt. Meliodas resting his forehead against her hair.

Neither said anything for a long while.


	8. The Sword of the Holy Knight

**I'm back! Yay!**

 **So it's been a little bit. I had a quarter finished before x-mas but stuff got in the way. Then when I did want to write, I was recovering from a breast reduction surgery and so typing become a wee bit of a struggle.**

 **Anyway, hope you all are staying safe!**

 _ **There is a link to see Beth's Boar Hat outfit on my profile!**_

 **[27/5/2020—minor corrections]**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: The Sword of the Holy Knight**

It felt so surreal when I woke; while I'd accepted long ago who and where I was, actually standing within the Boar Hat was just… just so _incredulous_.

The rock of Mama Hawk walking was surprisingly soothing, nothing like the jarring movement I was expecting.

Hawk was napping quietly to my right as I sat on the edge of the porch sketching ideas for an outfit—something that was nothing like Liones wore. The pink uniform was never going to be something I would even contemplate wearing. Instead, I wanted something to my knees, something that fit in within the Boar Hut. That meant black, white, and green—all of which Meliodas had in fabric.

Honestly, I was kind of afraid to ask how much clothing he got through.

But once I'd gotten a rough idea of what I'd wanted, it all came together.

A white underdress with black overtop, the green for a belt to act as an accent to break up the white and black. The final piece, with black leggings underneath for my own sanity and modesty with Mel, should do the job.

The door of the tavern opened and closed again, Mel coming to sit to my left.

"Told you you had beautiful drawings." There was a grin on his face and was obviously referring to something that I couldn't remember.

"What?" I questioned with a confused huff.

"You used to get this adorable blush whenever someone asked about your drawings." His grin widened, reaching out to pinch my cheeks. "It was so cute—awe, you're _blushing_."

I batted his away as he laughed lightly, my cheeks warm. Right, I remember that now. My drawing skills were still in the refining stage before Zaratras's death, so he hadn't seen the leap in progress I'd made, but I'd been really hesitant to show anyone my drawings since a lot of them was me trying to remember my life as Bethany, so people would get confused about what the images were about.

"Well, art's always been my favourite pastime. That's certainly never changed." I held the sketchbook for him to take. He did. "Is that okay?"

Meliodas hummed, lips curling upwards again—this time into a smile that I was getting rather familiar with, unfortunately. "You sure I can't tempt you into something a bit shorter?" I scoffed and he continued with laughter in his voice. "It's lovely, Beth. I'm glad you kept your passion for art."

I nodded enthusiastically. "I love drawing environments a lot, there's just so much to encapsulate! And being able to sew lets me bring a lot of my ideas to life."

"May I look through the rest of the book?" He asked, head titled but never looking away from the sketchbook.

"Knock yourself out." I shot him a smile and stood. Intent to start figuring out measurements and how much fabric I had to work with.

* * *

I had memorized all the numbers when it came to sizes for myself—I couldn't rely solely on having a written version in case something happened to said written piece.

It took me roughly seventy-two hours, give or take, to complete the outfit. With how simple the entire plan was, and lack of any real complex additions, the time was significantly cut down from my usual dresses, which were more upper-class and suitable for my status. The only time-consuming part was the ruffles at the base, collar, and sleeves of the dress.

Within the day of finishing the dress, we had reached the outskirts of Bernia.

"So." I lifted an arm, pulling some of the fabric with it, to display the dress better. "Whatcha think?"

Hawk squealing. "Amazing! I've never seen someone put clothes together that fast before! Meliodas sure can't!"

Hawk got a thump on the head from said blond for the comment.

"It came out perfectly, Beth. Good tavern uniform." Mel answered giving a thumbs up and purposely ignored Hawk's groan of pain.

I can only imagine what his skills are like, especially with his cooking as the only example.

I beamed happily.

"I'm just happy pervy over here can't do anything with an outfit like that, Beth." Hawk grumbled.

Only for Meliodas to promptly lift my skirt high enough to reveal my leggings, I epp-ed this time.

"Relax." He purred, amusement colouring his tone. "I'm just checking _eeeeeeverythings_ in order."

I slapped his hands away, holding the fabric against my legs as I tried to ignore the burn on my cheeks.

Hawk snagged Meliodas's ear. "Moron! Stop assaulting Beth! You're gonna scare her off! I don't want the only friendly company to leave!" He wailed.

Aww, I love you too Hawk.

I just smiled fondly at the scene before focusing. "How should I go about asking about information? Don't you think just randomly asking about them might seem a bit off too people?"

"Stuff on the Holy Knights would be a good idea, too." Mel mused, hand finding his chin thoughtfully and completely ignored what I'd asked.

"That reminds me." I rubbed the back of my head where I'd hit my head and gotten that concussion. "You don't happen to remember what happened the day of Zaratras' death, do you? I remember I had been looking for you when everything went to hell."

Meliodas frowned. "You don't remember either?"

"Huh?" I blinked, what was he talking about? "What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't remember anything myself, only some flashes." Mel answered, arms crossed. "Curious."

"I had a concussion if that makes a difference."

Hawk squawked. "When was this?"

"Ten years ago, Hawk." I waved him off. "But the Physician said memory loss can be normal with a concussion."

Meliodas's frown deepened before he shrugged, a smile replacing the thoughtful expression but I knew he hadn't forgotten about it.

* * *

"First stop for information: Bernia Village!" Meliodas announced as he stepped outside and we got a beautiful view of the entire village. "I get my liquor from all over, but Bernia's is special. Bernia Ale is made from what's touted as the finest water in all Liones and the gruit that grows along the river." He flashed a grin my way. "It has fans all over the country."

"Can't say I've ever tried any ale before." It was true, my statues left me drinking wine more often than not and I wasn't a big a fan of wine to begin with—and wine here was a lot stronger tasting, albeit having less alcohol in it.

"Guess we'll have to remedy that, eh?" Meliodas wagged his brows and I only gave him an amused look.

"Maybe so, but the famous water of theirs has gone bone dry." Hawk noted, and Mel and I stepped up to the bridge to peer down into the dried up river.

"The herbs have withered too, must have been at least five days since they are plants that need a lot of water." I mused thoughtfully. Both Mel and Hawk blinked at me and I gave them a confused look. "What?"

"You know a lot about plants, Beth?" Hawk asked.

My cheeks warmed. "I… have a few back home."

A flash of my shelves of potted plants come to mind. Heh, _a few_.

I hope someone's watering them for me.

"I wonder what happened." Meliodas questioned, peering down the path toward the village centre. He made a curious noise. "There seems to be a gathering of sorts up ahead."

I followed Mel, and Hawk trotted after us.

Approaching, it was easy to see that everyone was crowding around the centre of the village square. Despite the number of people and the volume of noise, it was clear something was wrong. The villagers were all wearing looks of frustration and desperation.

Mel moved forward. "Yo."

The redshirted guy just in front of him turned; a look of surprise but familiarity too. "You're the owner of the Boar Hat, right?"

"Yep, that's me. What's going on?"

"We're trying to pull out a sword a Holy Knight jabbed into the ground!" He ground his jaw in anger.

"A Holy Knight struck his sword in the ground? But why?"

An older gentleman stepped up. "The other day, we incurred the wrath of this Holy Knight. He infused the sword with magic and sealed off all the groundwater sources under the village."

"If we don't do something, it won't just be water, we'll lose our gruit, too!"

"If that happens, there'll be no more Bernia Ale… damn it!"

With the slight gap between the people, I snagged a glance at the sword handle—Gilthunder's sword.

I exhaled, hating myself at that moment for allowing my memory to fade over time. I could remember flashes, names, words—but like my memories of Before…wait—

I pursed my lips, when _had_ my memories started to fade? I could have sworn—never mind.

Shuffling nearer to Mel, I leant close. "I know that sword."

He blinked. "You do."

I nodded. "Gil."

His eyes widened.

"Only the power of a Holy Knight can draw the sword of one." The old man continued grimly. "It'll be difficult to break it to everyone, but this village is done for…"

Before I could respond to the elderly man, a child—Mead, right?—approached. "What's with all the pathetic moaning and groaning, you guys?"

"Mead!" I was right.

"Some Holy Knight's sword stuck in the ground is nothing! This would be a piece of cake for my buddies, the Seven Deadly Sins."

("Does random people saying that happen often?"

Meliodas simply smiled. I didn't know if I wanted to sigh or rub the back of neck; I did both. Mel patted my arm.)

"That's enough, Mead! Whose fault do you think it is that we're in this fix?!" A brunette woman interrupted, tone distraught. "Of all this things to say! Why bring up those criminals?!"

"She right! Don't make the Holy Knights any angrier!"

"Do you have a grudge against us?!"

"Oh, come on… that isn't why I did it!" Mead argued, tone wavering.

"We've had all we can take of your lies and mischief!"

A young girl grabbed a rock from the ground and threw it—only instead of hitting Mead, it flew right past him and collided with Meliodas's face. I winced, hand covering my mouth as the rock fell and he blinked his eyes open, more startled than in any actual pain.

" _Hmph!_ I hate you guys!"

"Yeah, well we hate you more, Mead!"

The kids started throwing more rocks as Meliodas chose that moment to swoop in and lead Mead away.

"Looks like we picked a lousy time to come here." Hawk commented.

"Deep down, he's an honest, earnest lad." The elderly man sighed heavily.

"Where are his parents?" I asked.

"They passed several years ago. They were travellers and we happily took him in when they did. But it seems he doesn't quite understand why we keep him here." He mourned quietly. "He lashes out in the only way he thinks will get him attention. He threw a bug into the Holy Knights drink and in retaliation, the Holy Knight did this." He waved an arm half-heartedly at the sword.

"Thank you." I smiled softly, an idea forming and I beckoned Hawk to follow as I began the journey to the Boar Hat at a more passive pace than Meliodas.

* * *

I heard them talking as I opened the door to the tavern.

"Hey, you two." Mel greets.

I give Mel a smile before focusing on Mead, hands linked behind my back as I lean forward. "I hear that you're quite the troublemaker." His eyes widen. "The elderly man told me all about it." A bit of an exaggeration but it was needed for where I wanted to go.

"What's with you? Who do you think you are, lady?" He sniffled, turning his nose up.

"When I was younger, I was often scolded by my father for playing pranks on one of my sisters whenever we'd get into an argument about petty things."

"So what?"

"When he would scold me, he would have me sit with him. Somethings we did nothing, other times he made me do work. But it didn't matter because I had his attention. You see, he isn't my real father and between work and other things, I never really got to spend as much time with him as I liked. There was one time I climbed a really tall tree that was in the garden and tried to give my father a scare. When he saw me, he turned pale as a ghost and climbed up the tree after me. He'd never climbed a tree before and sure enough, he fell out of the tree and hurt himself, fortunately not seriously."

Mead's eyes watered. "I don't lie and stuff just to get a rise out of people either." He admitted.

"Will you tell me about it?" I crouched beside him, hand gripping the edge of the table to ease the strain on my left thigh, the muscle wasn't as strong as my right after I'd been hit with that arrow.

"My… my mum and dad were travellers. But when we made a stop at Bernia a few years ago, they both died in an epidemic. The people of the village took me in and raised me as their own. I was really happy but I wasn't anybody's real family. I got jealous of everybody for having what I didn't." He rubbed his eyes of the falling tears. "So I started lying and playing pranks."

"Is that also why you put the bug in the Holy Knight's drink?"

"No!" He hit the table, startling me enough to waver on my toes. "I did it because that knight treated everybody like crap! The adults and kids alike go to a lot of time and trouble making great ale! And that jerk insulted them all! Holy Knights are no-good bastards!"

I eased myself onto the stall as my thigh began demanding I move position.

"What about that talk of you being friends with the Seven Deadly Sins?" Mel pipped up.

"I—I lied." He looked away sheepishly.

Mel sat back. "I see. I gotta admit, my hopes were up a little."

"But why would you lie about that exactly?" I questioned.

"Well, the Seven Deadly Sins are wanted by the Holy Knights, right? If they're being hunted by evil Holy Knights, then aren't the Seven Deadly Sins the good guys?"

I peered at Hawk first, our expression of amusement matching as we turned to Meliodas to see him finishing his ale. When he realised we were waiting on him, he lowered the cup and opened his eyes in confusion. "Huh?"

Before anyone could comment further however, there was shouting from outside.

"That's coming from the village!" Mead stood and rushed out the door.

For a long moment neither of us moved.

"Say, Beth." Hawk started. "Did you really climb that tree?"

My cheeks burnt in embarrassment; it wasn't one of my finest moments.

"Ahh. Guess you did." Mel hummed.

"I was being a stupid eight-year-old." I sniffled in my defence. "But, uh, we gonna go see what's happening?"

"We probably should."

* * *

The two knights—disgusting and corrupt as they came—laughed their drunken heads off. "It's not even budging!"

"We're gonna sit down and have more of this cheap swill of yours!" the other snickered.

It was sickening—seeing the sight before me, as they tried so desperately to free the sword all the while they _mocked_ them.

"Look at the desperate expression on his face!"

"Here's to morons!"

I clutched my elbows, knowing it was the only thing keeping me from lashing out at them.

I felt Mel's fingertips purposely brush against my knuckles as he walked passed, swiping the cups from the knights with little effort that they didn't even notice until they were gone.

"People who can't appreciate good booze don't deserve to drink it."

The rope snapped and the men and Mead all stumbled from the sudden freedom to do so.

I bit my lip, resisting a smile as Mel downed the remains of the ale and set the cups down.

"Sorry, I don't have any money on me right now." Meliodas smile and wrapped his hand around the handle of Gil's sword. "Can I pay with this?"

He pulled the sword like he was simply lifting a near weightless object and I didn't hide the smile this time at the looks of awes from the townsfolk.

"Impossible! Only a Holy Knight could pull that sword!" the shorter knight gapped.

"H-How could a kid like that…" the taller one stuttered.

The ground rumbled and I grinned as water burst from the well they'd been sitting on, sending them flying forward. I approached Mel as he stepped up to the knights.

"You forgot this." He dropped Gil's sword with a smile. The knights flinched back, grappling for the sword before running away.

Mead ran up, eyes wide. "Hang on, mister, are you really…?"

"Yep! I really am the proprietor of a fine drinking establishment!" Meliodas smiled and crossed his arms.

"That's not what I meant!" Mead pointed out.

Mel leant forward with a wink. "Enough about me, don't you have something left to do?"

Mead turned to the other villagers that had finally stood and moved closer.

"Mead…" the elder gentleman that I had spoken to earlier was the one to speak. I supposed he was the head of the village. "What we did was wrong. Can you ever forgive us?" People among the crowd all looked guilty and apologetic.

"What right do I have to forgive you? I'm not one of you…"

I pushed him forward. "Silly boy."

He stared up at me, wide-eyed. "W-What the hell? Why'd you call me that?!" He lowered his gaze. "I don't… understand…"

I muffled my laughter behind my hand as the villagers began chanting Mead's name and it was only moments before he burst into tears, rushing to their open arms.

"You can lie to yourself all you want, but you can't fool your heart." Mel commented lightly.

I bit my tongue at the sad glaze in his eyes... It wasn't my place.

* * *

I smiled out at the sea of customers as I waited for Meliodas to fill the next set of cups.

The feel and crowd was familiar to me and I easily fall back into the routine beside it being seventeen years. Having been a waitress Before, it left me feeling at home in this environment.

"You sure are a natural at this, Beth!" Hawk praised.

I beamed. "I'm used to walking around with a tray when moving my art supplies. So I should hope so!" A semi lie because I couldn't exactly tell them I'm a reincarnated girl that had previous worked in a restaurant. Plus, I _did_ use a tray to move stuff around, albeit not often, so it wasn't _technically_ a lie…

"If anything, it feels kinda good and the familiarity makes my heart pound!"

"Ah, I see. But it's your first time doing it like this."

I paused, _Holy shit, was that an innuendo?_ I turned to Meliodas, face blank and clutching the tray to my chest. He met my eyes, nothing gave away if it was because goddamnit, did Mel have a pokerface.

"Seriously Meliodas!" Hawk butted in and I blinked. Okay, it probably _was_ …

Honestly, I made innuendos as Bethany, albeit they were an inside joke with my friends but—two can play at this game.

I set the drinks on the tray and turned to leave but not before flashing him an oh-so innocent smile. "It sure is, but I'm enjoying it very much, I'm happy you gave me the chance to experience it!"

I did hear the slight choking noise that escaped Meliodas's throat just as Hawk squawked: "E—Elizabeth!"

I laughed and scampered out into the main area. Perhaps this is how I get my payback? I resist the evil grin at the thought.

* * *

"—If you get too cheeky, we might leave you in the Forest of White Dreams." The woman Mead had called Auntie scolded playfully and Mead rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

I tilted my head. "What's the Forest of White Dreams?"

Mead spun on his heels. "It's a spooky forest that not even Holy Knights go near!" He shuddered.

I smiled as Mead and the woman continued bantering, a deep ache filled my chest at the sight. But suddenly there was a tingle at the back of my tongue and I swallowed… Gil…

I turned to Meliodas to see he had noticed as well, catching his eye I stepped outside. I breathed in the cool night air but it did little to stop the ozone on my tongue.

Mel stepped upside me. "You felt it too?"

I nodded. "It's Gilthunder's magic." I clicked my tongue on the roof of my mouth and commented absently: "It's always tasted weird."

"Tasted?" He echoed, looking rather baffled.

I rubbed my neck. "Ah, not taste exactly. I've always been quite receptive to feeling magic, it develops almost like a taste on my tongue. Gilthunder's tingles and like the feeling before a storm—which fits since he's lightning-based. Although—" I frowned. "—considering yours is wheat and pomegranate, Gil's is normal since the taste takes after what the magic is."

"Wheat and pomegranate." Mel reiterated. There was something to his tone that I couldn't _quite_ place, almost like he was remembering something. He shook his head. "I've never heard of someone responding to magic like that before."

I shrugged. "I know. When I first started experiencing it, I asked a few people but none react like I do, so— _weird_."

He huffed lightly in seemingly amusement and bafflement. Before he focused, turning to face the way the tingle felt the strongest.

"A little more to the left?" He tilted his head.

Then—we heard it.

I tensed, hands pressing down against my dress knowing the strong air current about it hit would likely send it flying upwards.

Watching him catch the spear was rather breathtaking. The bright lightning that encased the spare let it be that I never lost sight of Mel as he was pulled along from the speed at which the spare had come flying.

The loud sounds of ground breaking as he collided with rock had my eyes widening in worry, I knew it wouldn't severely hurt him but it didn't make the sight and sound any less worrying.

"Meliodas!" I found myself calling before racing down toward the village.

He went flying through brick house after brick house, doing major damage to those he did.

Finally, he stopped himself, spinning and launching the spear back at Gilthunder and boy was it just as stunning as seeing him catch the thing.

"Meliodas!" I lifted the front of my dress to run faster when I spotted him again, stood in the middle of the village square. Villagers that hadn't visited the Boar Hat had come running out of their homes...

Thankfully it seemed no one was in the houses Meliodas had gone flying through, which was a relief to see.

Seeing the blood on his hand and the wound it was coming from, I reach forward, cupping his hand with both of mine and tugged at my magic. My hands lit up and I began healing the wound.

While the blood was still there when I removed my hands, the wound was long gone.

"Ah. Thanks." He smiled.

"Whoa, Beth!" Hawk oinked. "I didn't know you could do magic."

I shrugged. "I can heal and make my own arrows. That's about it, nothing too special."

Hawk awed.

"I wouldn't say that's nothing." Mel argued, looking amused before growing serious again. "That was probably our hint to leave the village as soon as possible though."

"You think they'll leave this place alone then?"

"I don't doubt it. If Gil was the one to send it, he knows I wouldn't stay and endanger anyone like that." Mel argued and I nodded in agreement. "True…"

"It'd be nice if we had a place we could hide." Hawk mused.

"Ah, now that you mention it." I tugged at my button lip.

"What is it?"

"Earlier, Mead said that he never wanted to go to the 'Forest of White Dreams'. He said that even Holy Knights steer clear of it."

"That sounds perfect!" Hawk hastily agreed.

"That settles it, then. But we're not gonna hide." Mel put a fist into a palm. "We're gonna do what we're meant to do."

"What do you mean?" Hawk questioned and I myself blinked before my eyes widened with realisation—god, how'd I forget—?

"You mean—?"

"Yeah, I bet one of us lives there." Mel grinned.

* * *

 **Beth's quite forgetful isn't she?**


	9. The Sin in the Sleeping Forest

**I'm back! Sorry for the wait again, I've been really into the Marvel fandom recently and I'm mostly on AO3 too.**

 **But I'm here with the next chapter, of which has had the most change to an episode yet :)**

 **There have been some more minor-but slightly more major-changes (one of which you'll notice right away) but don't want to spoil!**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Reviews:**

 **Starofblood1:** OMG THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! You don't know how much that means to me that you think my story is one of the best you've read in a long time! It legit made me grin when I first read your review! I'm so happy I've been able to give you something you enjoy so much!

 **Cocobyrd87:** Yeah, even if they went by their original heights, Melidoas should've been taller lol!

 **RevyGreenDragon:** Another massive thank you for saying this is one of the best fics you've seen for SDS! You've got some more development between Beth and Mel in this chapter ;)

 **Sokeymoe:** Well, memory isn't perfect and considering it's been seventeen years, she's bound to be forgetting even important stuff ;)

 **TheChoasOfInsanity:** Not much has changed yet, but this chapter is the definite beginning of a shift in quite a few ways. But worrying about people, whether you know whats the come or not, is a normal reaction, so I don't see a problem with Beth being worried. She's not perfect and you can't really control what you feel and in what way. I hope that answer satisfies you?

 **UnicornPheonix:** Thank you! Updates will probably be all over the place, unfortunately, but I won't be abandoning this fic! And thank you for saying that about the OC part! My cheeks are flushed from the praise ;) I hope you enjoy this chapter!

 **HeartlessVampireGirl:** Haha! The notes, you find out what happened to those this chapter ;)

 **From a Guest:** Thank you and I'm really sad I can't thank you directly! But the compliment on my vocabulary and descriptions made me smile! I'm always aiming to improve and I'm glad to know I've been doing that. You should see my old stuff lol. Also, the innuendo stuff is going to be a long-running joke!

 **Heitor:** As always, thank you for your thoughts! My surgery and recovery went extremely well! Innuendos are definitely going to be a thing between Mel and Beth! The whole light arrow thing, I hadn't thought of lol, but I can't help imagine it and maybe might use it in the future. who knows ;)

 **Thank you everyone else who reviewed but i haven't answered! I appreciate all of them equally and make me smile when I get one!**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: The Sin in the Sleeping Forest**

(Meliodas handed me the basket, of which was topped off with white, green and black fabrics. "Thought you'd like some more in case something happens. Plus I saw how you were eyeing my sleeve just now too."

My cheeks warmed. I had planned to offer to repair it if he'd need it…

"—And below are some stuff that I thought you'd be needing if you're staying long term."

I blinked and lifted the fabric to see what exactly he was referring too. "Oh, right. Thanks." I dropped the fabric. Honestly, anyone mentioning or referencing menstruation wasn't that big of a deal for me. Albeit other women often seemed perturbed whenever it was mentioned. It might've just been because I originally grew up in a time it was normal and wasn't ostracized. "I hadn't thought about that."

Mel grinned cheekily. "Better to have remembered sooner rather than later."

I huffed my amusement before saying goodnight.)

I tapped the pencil against the last page of my sketchbook. I had offered a goodnight to Mel and Hawk to come up but I hadn't planned to go to bed just yet.

I ground my jaw side to side in frustration. Every time I set the pencil down on paper, no matter how much I tried to remember— _nothing came to me_.

What the hell was happening?

I knew memories fade, no matter how hard you try and remember. I could accept that but…

Nothing but names, flashes, and a rough timeline of events I was struggling to remember were all I could pick out.

When had this happened?

When had I forgotten so much of the show?

And it was mostly the show; I was missing Bethany memories, yes, but nothing to this extent—

I forced my breathing deep so I didn't fall back onto short and shallow breaths. It wouldn't do to work myself up—especially since Mel was still awake, I didn't want to worry him by having a panic attack.

Correction: having a second panic attack.

I sighed and set the pencil down, closing the sketchbook.

And I happened to burn all my old notes before fleeing Liones because _of course,_ I did.

Damnit all to hell.

* * *

A hand coming to rest on my forehead had me blinking up at Mel as he removed it. "You feeling okay? You look exhausted."

I sat up, politely hiding my yawn as Mel set my tea down on the table in front of me. I murmured a quiet thank you and wrapped my hands around the warm drink. "I had trouble sleeping last night."

"Worried?"

I shrugged and rubbed an eye to wipe the sleep away. "I get bouts of insomnia sometimes."

Mel hummed. "Just randomly or?"

I sniffled, my nose feeling a little stuffed and answered: "Randomly I think. Been that ways for a few years now, about the same time…" _I began having those dreams I could never remember._ The only thing I could was a woman calling my name. It was always _Elizabeth_ , sometimes it was tenderly, reminiscent, or even sternly on a few occasions. I frowned, now that I really thought about it, why was I having these dreams and most importantly who was this woman calling me? Her voice didn't _sound_ familiar. _Ugh, why is my memory so shitty in this life._

Fingers snapping in front of my face jerked me back to the present. I blinked up at the pinched browed look on Mel's face. "You zoned out, Beth."

"I did?" I frowned again.

"You trailed off and got this glazed look in your eyes." Hawk pipped up and I turn to him.

Huh, when had he arrived?

"Just lost in thought." I waved off.

Mel tilted his head and smiled but there questioning glaze in his eyes never left. "Okie-dokie then. Ready to head out when you are, Beth."

* * *

"Hey, are you sure about this? It's been three hours since we entered the forest." Hawk questioned from up ahead. "There's no sign of any animals, much less people."

It was true, the thick white fog and leafless trees made the entire journey a little eerie. But honestly, it would've been worse had it been dark. We could at least see where we were going.

"Your forgetting that people tend to avoid the forest, Hawk." I chimed in before turning to look over my shoulder at Mel. "You really think one of the others are staying here?"

"Probably."

I rubbed the back of my neck and wiggled my left toes in an attempt to ease the ache in my calf while Hawk squawked in outrage: "We came here without any hard evidence?!" Hawk bowed his head, eyeing our surroundings nervously. "You know, rumours say that there's a terrifying monster lurking in this forest!"

A hand expertly slipping under my dress to grope my butt made me yelp. Eyes wide, I turned to look at Mel, frozen in my shock as he squeezed, grinning cheekily. "I _knew_ you weren't wearing your leggings."

"Meliodas!" Hawk exclaimed.

Finally regaining control over my body, I go to shove his hand away—he moves them as I do—and I hold my dress down against my legs, cheeks burning.

Dear God, I was so sleep deprived I'd forgotten my leggings this morning. How in Hell did I let that happen? At least he hadn't taken my pants. Guess there were some miracles.

Mel just smiled like he was the cat that ate the canary. "I do have evidence, sort of." Mel ignored Hawk completely—like always. "As you can see, the Forest of White Dreams is a place that's difficult to traverse on horseback. It's also easy to lose your bearings. Even hunters and travellers go around it making it the ideal place to hide."

I sighed, fondly exasperated however as I take a large step up, my calf muscles decide it was time to lock up and my knee gives out under the pain mid-step. I slipped and would have fallen backwards in a no doubt painful fall when Mel napped me before I could.

He lowered me.

"Beth!" Hawk called, rushing back down to us.

"You okay?" Mel questioned, shifting to look at my leg, all humour from a moment ago completely gone.

"Ah." Was the only sound that escaped as I grimaced, quickly massaging my calf.

"Beth?"

"I have a bad leg. I was in an accident several years ago, ended up with an arrow in my leg." I offered.

Mel's brows furrowed deeper, jaw tight and for a moment his emerald eyes looked significantly darker. "An accident… that resulted in you… getting an arrow to the leg?"

He met my eyes, cocking a brow and his expression a warning enough to not try and downplay it. Christ. My palms suddenly felt sweaty.

I dropped my gaze, biting my lip. "I was out on a hunting trip…"

"And?" Mel's voice was low and demanding, _Jesus_. His grip on my ankle tightened and I curled my toes nervously, feeling like a scolded child.

"Some bandits thought it would be a good idea to try and ransom me off. They chased me and one of them ended up shooting me in the leg to stop me."

Hawk was wisely silent as he shuffled anxiously as I felt Mel stare despite me not willing to meet his eyes. A distance crow and creak of branches the only sound for a very long minute.

"Hawk." Mel's voice was clipped and Hawk actually jumped.

"Y-yes?"

"Go on ahead would you?" Mel's eyes didn't leave my face. Hawk hesitated. " _Now_."

Hawk moved.

Why was Mel being so weird? It had happened years ago.

"Beth, look at me."

I didn't, instead found the tree to my right a lot more appealing.

"Elizabeth." I tensed, eyes snapped to his. Holy Shit. How'd he do that?

Mel sighed and released my ankle to instead ruffle his hair. "I don't want to come off an annoyed here, but I would have liked to have known this sooner, especially if we end up doing a lot of fighting. How bad is it?"

I bit my lip and half-heartedly shrugged, a guilt I'd felt very few times in both my lives festering. It ate away at my heart as if it was warping my insides. There was a time when I had been Bethany, I can't remember exactly what happened as I'd been a young child but my cousin and I had done something stupid and I could remember my grandmother scolding us. I could remember, even now, the guilt and sadness our actions had caused to upset our grandmother

"It just depends on a day to day basis." Was all I could offer. It was true, I could go a while without any sort of pain or I could do something slightly strenuous and limp for the rest of the day. "Sometimes uphill walking can set it off but I can't predict whenever it starts playing up."

Mel frowned again and sighed heavily.

I swallowed. "Sorry." His eyes snap up to meet mine again. "For not telling you. It wasn't intentional."

He nodded. "It's okay. But let me know if you're in any pain in the future, okay? You've not a burden, Beth and I don't want you to think telling me you're in pain will make you one."

I worried my lip and ducked my head, cheeks burning in embarrassment—it hadn't… I hadn't. I hadn't _thought_ it would be a burden, but I will admit I didn't want to cause Mel any unnecessary worry. I didn't want to be a distraction for him, and so telling him about my leg hadn't even crossed my mind in the first place.

However, I was brought from my thoughts as I was lifted. I yelped, hands instinctively finding something to grab on to which happened to be Mel's shoulders. Holding me securely with an arm under my knees and another behind my back, I was carried bridal style up the hill.

I buried my face into his chest to hide to flush on my cheeks. God, emotions are complicated and tiring. I murmured a quiet thank you and Mel hummed in reply, nose brush against my temple.

But when he reached the top of the hill, Mel stopped and the numerous cries of "Meliodas, Beth!" had me looking up and I choked on my spit at the sight of a dozen Hawks.

"Huh." Mel started. "A herd of Hawks." He smiled as if there wasn't a single thing wrong with the scene in front of us.

"Ah." Was all that escaped me and I blinked, then shook my head and questioned: "A type of shapeshifting creature?"

"Seems like it."

The first Hawk that rushed towards us, begging us to believe he was the real one, was probably him but he got muddled up with all the others who quickly followed behind.

All the cries for us to believe which one was real made me cringe at the volume. Mel hummed thoughtfully and I yelped as he rushed forward, making me bury my face again against the gust of wind. Mel sent the Hawks flying with their own cries. He even directly kicked a few of them and I bit my lip to stop a burst of laughter at the thought of Mel taking his constant annoyance at Hawk out on the copycats.

Immediately the creatures scrambled away, changing back to the original forms.

Without much thought, Mel took off after them and I was tempted to say he could put me down and I could run but when I opened my mouth to say it, Mel seemed to anticipate what exactly I was thinking.

"It's find, Beth."

"You sure?"

He flashed me a smile. "Of course."

I nodded, subdued for now but my attention was snagged by the shape that was slowing coming into our sight through the mist. Diane. I perked up. "That's someone up ahead, right?"

Mel tilted his head as Hawk awed his confusion before squawking when he realised the person wasn't very far in the distance but was instead a giant woman.

The shapeshifters cried out for Diane and how they were sorry for allowing Holy Knights into the forest.

Oh man, Diane had threatened them, hadn't she? I bit back my smile, especially when Diane wakes up, slamming a hand into the earth to send them fleeing again and kicking up a large cloud of dust.

Mel set me down and I wobbled at the feeling of being back on my feet.

Diane stood, towering over us and—I'd forgotten just how tall she was. That feeling hadn't changed at all since the first time I'd ever had the chance to meet her. She was still scarily tall but _I loved it_. God, do I love Diane, she had always been one of my favourites.

"Did you say Holy Knights?"

"S—she's huge!" Hawk gapped.

"N-No, we're not Holy Knights." I raised my hands in an attempt to ease the murderous look on Diane's face.

Her eyes honed in on me and the look turned inquisitive then— _"Little Bee?!"_

I was scoped up with a loud squeal and cuddled to her chest. I squeaked in shock, huddling close at the dizziness that hit me from all the movement—I hadn't even seen her move to grab me!

"D—Dee-dee." I was huddled up in a half ball as Diane giggled away.

"It is you! I've missed you, Little Bee!"

"Little Bee?" Hawk exclaimed in shock.

Diane's eyes turned to Hawk and grinned. "Oh! You've brought dinner!"

Hawk screeched in terror. "I'm not dinner!"

Diane blinked and pouted. "Aw, but I'm hungry!"

I bit my lip to stop the giggle that threatened to escape.

"Huh?" Diane turned her attention to Mel, she squinted down at him. "Captain? Is that you?"

"Yo!" Mel raised a hand in greeting, but then Diane frowned, eyes shifting to me, then back to Mel.

"How comes you're with the Captain, Little Bee?" She asked.

"Ah." I rubbed the back of my head. "It's a bit long story actually."

She paused, eyes narrowing down at Mel. "And you're all alone with him?"

I blinked, confused. "Well, Hawk's here too, but yeah."

I heard the quiet mutter of Hawk thanking me for considering him important enough to remember him as a companion too. How cute.

Diane smiled tightly. "Oh, really? Just you two?" She turned to me. "He hasn't done anything to you, has he?!"

Oh, _oh_. I withheld a wicked grin as a thought came to me and I purposefully met Mel's eyes, whose eyes widened in horror as he seemed to catch the devious look in my eyes.

"Actually—"

I didn't even get the chance to say anything else, Diane seemed to take me looking at Mel enough of an answer, and then Diane was punching Mel, sending him flying. I slapped a hand over my mouth to muffle my giggles. Payback is a _bitch_.

"You filthy bastard! How dare you touch my Little Bee like that!" Diane cried, huddling me against her chest. "How dare you try and corrupt her with your pervy ways!"

Hawk oinked happily. "Now I'm not the only one that can protect Beth!"

"D—Diane." Mel started, looking hesitant at the thought she might try and punch him again. But as I look at him over Diane's hand, the look he gave me promised my comeuppance by his hand. I just grinned.

"None of your excuses! You pervert! You philanderer!" Diane set me down to focus all her attention on beating Mel up.

 _Whoops_ …

* * *

"—So anyway, to put a stop of the Holy Knights' rampage, Beth is on a question to locate the Seven Deadly Sins." Mel, all bruising and scratched up, explained once Diane had stopped beating him to a pulp.

Diane sniffled. "I'm still not apologising for attacking you, Captain. But… I am always jumping to conclusions. I'm sorry."

Mel rubbed the back of his neck and I couldn't help the smile, especially when Mel eyed me from the corner of his eye. I was _definitely_ going to suffer at his hands later, but it was totally worth it. I flashed him a grin and his eyes narrowed before he shifted back to Diane.

"Anyway." Mel waved her off. "I'm working with Beth to gather the other Sins."

"All right. In that case, I'll go with." Diane stood, brushing the dirt off her knees as she did. "I'll be sure to lend you my strength!"

I beamed up at her. "Thank you, Diane!"

"T—Thank goodness." We all turned to the group of relieved looking shapeshifters hiding behind a rock. "She's been threatening us for years, saying she'd go on a rampage if we didn't shelter her!"

"I feel your pain." Hawk mutter under his breath.

 _CAW!_

The crow startled all of us and my eyes swerved to the red-eyed creature in a nearby tree. Gil…

"That's strange. I thought there were hardly any animals in this forest."

There was a tingle on the back of my tongue and I tensed, turning to Mel just as Hawk commented on the smell of rain.

"Lightning." I chimed in. Mel met my eyes, awareness flashed on to his face.

The was a crackle of thunder and a flash of lightning overhead as the clouds darkened almost instantaneously. The lightning was a bright blue and I knew Gil had arrived.

"What's happening?" Hawk questioned.

Before I could comment on just who was causing it, a large bolt of lightning zipped down. I squeezed my eyes closed against the bright light and suddenly found my arms held against my sides, stopping me from desperately covering my ears from the loud sound. I'd always hated thunder oddly enough, no matter how much I had tried to train myself out of it by watching Gilthunder train, it never worked and I couldn't stay long if he was using his magic.

The sound of armour made me twist my head toward it to see Gilthunder.

"And you are?" Mel questioned—I'd gotten the idea a long time ago, even before arriving in this world, that Mel pretended not to know stuff and I always found that just the slightest bit funny because he got people to underestimate him just so damn easily.

"We meet at last, Sins." Gilthunder greeted, stepping through the fog and into our sights for a clear view of him.

"This power…" Diane grumbled.

"You're a Holy Knight, aren't you?"

I worried my bottom lip. "Gilthunder."

"Princess Elizabeth." Gilthunder greeted, he eyed me for a moment and while his voice and face didn't give anything away. I've known him long enough to know he was relieved at seeing me unharmed. It was the slight twitch of his lip.

"You're the one who blocked Vanya's water supply and then tried to blow away the village, right?" Mel asked.

Diane tried to break her binding and Mel made a comment of not bothering to try and break it.

Gil approached and I tensed as he brought his sword to Mel's shoulder. "Do you know why the Holy Knights are after the heads of the Seven Deadly Sins?"

"Not really."

"Half call for the eradication of the rebel order that plotted to overthrow the kingdom. The other half want to do battle against the former legends in order t prove their own strength."

"Which half are you in?" Mel asked curiously—which really wasn't the time to be curious. The sight of Gil's sword so close to Mel's throat made me nervous, especially when I know the injury he'd going to end up with. One that I'd struggle to completely heal and leave me drained if I did attempt it.

"Both." Gilthunder answered, eyes narrowing. "No, I want _more_."

"More?"

"Yes. I want revenge for my father, Zaratras, Grand Mater of the Holy Knights. Killing you will show that I've surpassed my father, celebrated as the most powerful Holy Knight ever."

"So what you're getting at is that I'm the man who murdered your father?"

"You claim differently?" Gilthunder cocked a brow.

"Beats me." Mel shrugged. "The thing is, I don't remember very much from back then."

I saw the confused frown that appeared on Diane's face and licked my lips nervously.

"The last thing I remember is Beth calling out to Merlin and I some point after our return to the capital. The rest is a blank.—" I frowned this time—that might have happened, I remember _searching_ for them and considering I can't remember much that day either, I can't prove or argue about it. "—The next thing I remember, I was lying in a cellar somewhere. That's when I met Hawk."

"What difference does it make?" Gilthunder commented aloofly. "A traitorous order that plotted to overthrow the kingdom. That's what you people are."

A burst of frustration hit me but knew there was nothing I could do in this situation to stop Gilthunder.

But I was surprised when Gilthunder turned to me. "The kingdom's given top priority to take you into protective custody and I intend to do just that. But I would like to ask how you snuck out of the kingdom in the first place. There was no possible exit that wasn't covered by knights and not without help."

I pursed my lips and said nothing.

"You had help then." He concluded easily and I didn't deny it. "Very well, we'll have plenty of time to sort that out later." He turned back to Mel. "Once I have defeated you both, I'll have proven that I am now more powerful than any of the Seven Deadly Sins."

"Maybe you are. But maybe you aren't." Mel argued.

"In that case, I'll release your bonds so that I can prove it."

Mel smiled. "Thanks, but I can do it myself." And proceeded to do just that, Diane too. I pouted to myself, if only. Guess I was gonna have to wait.

"We could've escaped whenever we felt like it"

"And if I felt like it, I could annihilate you along with this entire forest." Gil responded with.

"Hmm, I doubt that." Mel smiled again.

"Then I'll simply cut you down."

"Right back at you." Mel peered up at Diane. "Don't interfere, Diane."

She pouted. "Okay, Captain."

"You don't want to risk the shame of me defeating you both?" Gilthunder cocked a brow, raising his sword and fell into a fighting stance.

Mel copied him but didn't draw his broken blade. "Can't you tell when your elder is trying to be nice to you?"

Gilthunder struck first and my bindings vanished as he turned all his focus onto Mel. I instinctively backed up to give them room to fight without being in the way.

They moved almost too fast for me to keep up, all I could catch was arks of lightning and flashes of them when they slowed enough to see them. Mel landed on an outcrop of rock in the near distance and was too far for me to hear what they were saying.

Gilthunder jumped up to attack Mel and the rock eventually gave out under the pressure they were making. Into the air they went, then back down in another flash of movement too quick for my eyes but I could sense their magic.

Mel crashed into the ground and I tensed—

I choked, slapping a hand over my mouth as Gilthunder sliced Mel's shoulder, sending blood flying. He hit the ground and I curled my toes to stop myself from rushing forward to heal, especially when a bloody puddle began to form.

"C—Captain?" Diane called hesitantly and I clutched my elbows, worrying my lip until it bled.

Gilthunder rolled Mel over with his foot.

"Meliodas, the Seven Deadly Sins' Dragon Sin of Wrath. Do you have any last words?"

"I… just wanted to know what happened to the other Sins…" He rasped.

I trembled—I knew, _I knew_ , he was playing his injuries up to some extent, but hearing his voice and the bloody puddle made my eyes sting because _fuck_. I might have seen some severe injuries before, might have helped heal such wounds before but, seeing it happen, seeing the wound be inflicted was a different story _entirely_.

Gilthunder sheathed his sword. "Very well, I'll tell you. Of the remaining five, three are still unaccounted for. But two of them have already been dealt with. The Fox Sin of Greed is being kept under tight guard at Baste Prison. The Grizzly Sin of Sloth is already dead and is interred in the Necropolis. Don't worry, I will send them all to join you."

"No kidding…" Mel burst into a smile, flipping to his feet and I could breathe again. "Thanks a lot, Little Gil! So, Baste Prison and the Necropolis, huh? I'll go check out one or the other."

Gilthunder blinked but didn't look surprised. "I see. You deliberately took my blow to learn the whereabouts of your fellow Sins."

Mel smirked. "Let's pick this up later, 'kay?"

"I think not." Gilthunder reached for his sword, swiping at Mel, who dodged it in a show of speed I had even worst luck at keeping up with. Another attack, another dodge. Again and again, until Gilthunder's back was facing Diane. Mel glanced over his shoulder with a smile. "Catch ya later."

Diane grabbed and lifted him. "You heard the Captain."

"Unhand me!" Gilthunder snarled, expanding a burst of lightning which did nothing to her but ruined her glove.

"Didn't I teach you a long time ago? Girls hate guys who shock them!" She threw him. Far. He was gone from sight in seconds. Goodness.

I let out a breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding, my grip tightening on my elbows as my entire body slumped as the adrenaline rush tapered off and my exhaustion really made itself know.

"Thanks, Diane." Mel smiled and blinked. "Wow, that vambrace is ruined."

"Aw." Diane pouted.

I moved closer to Mel, tugging at his sleeve to get a closer look at his shoulder. I licked my bleeding lip and wanted to whine. It was far too much for me to even attempt to heal in my exhausted state. That meant the doctor, I paled.

"I can't heal something this bad." I admitted in shame.

Mel just flashed me a smile. "It's alright, Beth."

"No, it's not! And don't try and play this off as nothing, either! " I glared and my eyes stung again—damnit, I wasn't going to cry! I reached under my belt to pull off the black fabric I used over the white dress and pressed it to his shoulder.

"Beth." Mel's tone turned soft, his hand attached to his non-injured shoulder settled on top of my hands which were holding the fabric. "It won't kill me."

"But you still need a doctor, especially if I can't heal this!"

"She's right, Captain." Diane crouched to get closer. "I'll give you three a lift to make it out of the forest quicker."

"Don't argue with us." I chastised.

He sighed and nodded. "Okay."

* * *

 **:)**


End file.
